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Authors: M. D. Neal Barnard
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defenses than ever. New heart protectors—natural constituents of vegetables and fruits—can add a layer of defense. And oat bran is not the only game in town; many foods provide soluble fiber that can drive cholesterol levels down.
This chapter covers all these areas, including the dramatically effective new program used for its reversal. And in terms of prevention, the prescriptionin this book is much stronger than that offered by federal guidelines or most other cholesterol-lowering programs. The reason is simple: If you want to reduce your risk of a heart attack, and especially if your goal is to reverse existing heart disease, those programs are simply too weak. As we see in this chapter, there are stronger approaches with scientifically proven effectiveness.
But first, what exactly is heart disease?
The Assault on the Heart
Common heart disease, or
atherosclerosis
, is a disease of arteries. The coronary arteries are perhaps the most important arteries in the body because they carry blood to the heart muscle itself. The name
coronary
comes from the fact that they ring the heart like a crown.
When a person experiences the chest pain of heart disease, the heart muscle is not getting enough oxygen. Something in the coronary arteries is stopping the flow of blood to the heart. If you could look into the artery, you would see a raised bump, called a
plaque
. It impedes the flow through the artery, just as a wad of gum stuck on the inside of a pipe would slow the flow of water.
Plaques are composed of cholesterol, fat, debris, and accumulating cells growing from the muscle layer that sheathes the artery. As plaques gradually grow, the passageway for blood becomes more narrow. When the heart is taxed by exercise or excitement, chest pain (
angina
) occurs. When the blood supply is completely blocked, part of the heart muscle dies. This is called a heart attack or, in technical terms, a
myocardial infarction
. Doctors often must treat blocked arteries surgically, with plaque-crunching angioplasty or a coronary bypass, in which arteries or veins from another part of the body are transplanted onto the heart.
We do not have just one plaque forming in our arteries. Starting in childhood, this sequence of events takes place in major arteries throughout the body. This is not a normal part of life, however. Postmortem examinations of American soldiers in the Korean and Vietnam wars showed that, while atherosclerosis had already started in these young men, their Asian counterparts did not have atherosclerosis.
Researchers set about to learn how to prevent plaques from forming and, more recently, how to make them go away. Before long, it became clear that certain characteristics help doctors predict who is going to have a heart attack and who is not. High cholesterol levels, smoking, high blood pressure, and a sedentary life-style are the best-known risk factors. In addition, your risk of heart disease is increased by diabetes, obesity, a family history of heart disease, stress, and the “Type A” personality (a need to excel, bossiness, and impatience). In addition, if your body contains too much stored iron, or your diet is low in vitamin-rich vegetables and fruits, you run an increased risk because of the free-radical damage they encourage.
D IFFERENT T YPES OF C HOLESTEROL
If you had a bit of cholesterol on the end of your finger, it would look like wax. Cholesterol is not the same as fat. It is a specialized substance made in the livers of all animals, including the human animal, for use as a biological raw material. It is used to make cell membranes and hormones, among other functions.
Cholesterol is a dangerous substance. It contributes to the deaths of half the people in America and Europe. In a sense, cholesterol is like petroleum. Petroleum is a raw material that can be used for many purposes, but a tanker full of spilled petroleum, combined with a lit match, can be deadly. So petroleum must be very carefully
This chapter covers all these areas, including the dramatically effective new program used for its reversal. And in terms of prevention, the prescriptionin this book is much stronger than that offered by federal guidelines or most other cholesterol-lowering programs. The reason is simple: If you want to reduce your risk of a heart attack, and especially if your goal is to reverse existing heart disease, those programs are simply too weak. As we see in this chapter, there are stronger approaches with scientifically proven effectiveness.
But first, what exactly is heart disease?
The Assault on the Heart
Common heart disease, or
atherosclerosis
, is a disease of arteries. The coronary arteries are perhaps the most important arteries in the body because they carry blood to the heart muscle itself. The name
coronary
comes from the fact that they ring the heart like a crown.
When a person experiences the chest pain of heart disease, the heart muscle is not getting enough oxygen. Something in the coronary arteries is stopping the flow of blood to the heart. If you could look into the artery, you would see a raised bump, called a
plaque
. It impedes the flow through the artery, just as a wad of gum stuck on the inside of a pipe would slow the flow of water.
Plaques are composed of cholesterol, fat, debris, and accumulating cells growing from the muscle layer that sheathes the artery. As plaques gradually grow, the passageway for blood becomes more narrow. When the heart is taxed by exercise or excitement, chest pain (
angina
) occurs. When the blood supply is completely blocked, part of the heart muscle dies. This is called a heart attack or, in technical terms, a
myocardial infarction
. Doctors often must treat blocked arteries surgically, with plaque-crunching angioplasty or a coronary bypass, in which arteries or veins from another part of the body are transplanted onto the heart.
We do not have just one plaque forming in our arteries. Starting in childhood, this sequence of events takes place in major arteries throughout the body. This is not a normal part of life, however. Postmortem examinations of American soldiers in the Korean and Vietnam wars showed that, while atherosclerosis had already started in these young men, their Asian counterparts did not have atherosclerosis.
Researchers set about to learn how to prevent plaques from forming and, more recently, how to make them go away. Before long, it became clear that certain characteristics help doctors predict who is going to have a heart attack and who is not. High cholesterol levels, smoking, high blood pressure, and a sedentary life-style are the best-known risk factors. In addition, your risk of heart disease is increased by diabetes, obesity, a family history of heart disease, stress, and the “Type A” personality (a need to excel, bossiness, and impatience). In addition, if your body contains too much stored iron, or your diet is low in vitamin-rich vegetables and fruits, you run an increased risk because of the free-radical damage they encourage.
D IFFERENT T YPES OF C HOLESTEROL
If you had a bit of cholesterol on the end of your finger, it would look like wax. Cholesterol is not the same as fat. It is a specialized substance made in the livers of all animals, including the human animal, for use as a biological raw material. It is used to make cell membranes and hormones, among other functions.
Cholesterol is a dangerous substance. It contributes to the deaths of half the people in America and Europe. In a sense, cholesterol is like petroleum. Petroleum is a raw material that can be used for many purposes, but a tanker full of spilled petroleum, combined with a lit match, can be deadly. So petroleum must be very carefully
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