Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease, or CVD, is an umbrella term that includes disorders of the heart and/or arteries, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, angina (chest pain), myocardial infarction (heart attack), and heart failure.
The biggest risk factors for CVD are hypertension (high blood pressure), obesity, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and triglycerides), diabetes, cigarette smoking, and physical inactivity.
Lipids and Hyperlipidemia
Having elevated levels of certain lipids in your blood can spell disaster for your heart. The lipids that most concern doctors are cholesterol and triglycerides.
Many experts think that your exposure to stress — and the way you deal with it — can contribute to your susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. Stress can also exacerbate other behaviors that are associated with heart disease (for example, if you're stressed out you might overeat or smoke more than you otherwise would).
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that your body manufactures (but also occurs in many foods). It's made up of chemicals called lipoproteins, which include high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL). HDL is “good” because it transports cholesterol out of your system. LDL is “bad” because it deposits the cholesterol on the arterial walls. Triglycerides are a different type of fat, also found in your blood and the foods you eat.
High Blood Pressure
Having hypertension increases the amount of work your heart must do, causing it to thicken and become stiff, which increases the chances of heart attack and congestive heart failure. High blood pressure also ups the risk of stroke.
Because hypertension often produces no symptoms, millions of people don't know they have it. In the vast majority of cases, doctors can't identify the cause (this is called primary hypertension). But about 5 to 10 percent of cases can be traced to an underlying condition, such as kidney disease, adrenal gland problems, or a congenital heart defect.
This type of high blood pressure, termed secondary hypertension, typically appears suddenly and causes bigger problems than primary hypertension. Secondary hypertension can also be caused by certain medications, including birth control pills, cold remedies, decongestants, and over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers.
Heart Helpers
Conventional medicine has an arsenal of drugs for treating and preventing CVD. Hyperlipidemia is generally treated with statin drugs, such as atorvastatin (Lipitor) and rosuvastatin (Crestor), which decrease production of cholesterol by the liver; other drugs inhibit the absorption of dietary cholesterol and include ezetimibe (Zetia). These medicines can cause abdominal, back, and joint pain, among other things.
Heart disease is treated with drugs like ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers), ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, and beta blockers. Side effects can include cough, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and nausea.
Many edible plants and plant oils have proven heart-protecting benefits, so many doctors advise incorporating them into your diet. For example:
• Garlic (Allium sativum) |
Eating lots of garlicky foods means less heart disease. Taking garlic powder keeps arteries flexible, helps lower blood pressure, and can prevent the damaging oxidation of cholesterol. |
• Pomegranate (Punica granatum) |
There's good evidence that drinking pomegranate juice every day can lower your blood pressure and improve other symptoms of CVD, including atherosclerosis (thickening of the arteries). |
• Psyllium (Plantago ovata, P. Psyllium) |
Adding a dose of these high-fiber seeds to your diet can significantly reduce your serum cholesterol levels. |
Soy (Glycine max) |
People who replace other dietary protein (such as red meat) with soy can reduce their cholesterol by as much as 10 percent. |
• Tea (Camellia sinensis) |
Green tea can lower cholesterol and triglycerides, and research shows that consuming three or more cups a day significantly decreases the risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. |
• Rice bran (Oryza sativa) |
Full-fat rice bran and rice bran oil can significantly reduce total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides and can increase HDL. |
Smoking cigarettes puts you at two to four times the risk of developing coronary heart disease; if you've already got it, you're twice as likely to suffer from sudden cardiac death. Nearly 21 percent of the adults in the United States — or 45.3 million people — are smokers.
Other herbs are used medicinally to treat heart disease. They include:
• Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) |
This annual sage plant is used in China to treat CVD. Research shows it acts as a natural ACE inhibitor and works to lower blood pressure, dilate arteries, and decrease blood clotting. |
• Goji-berry (Lycium barbarum, L. chinense) |
These bright-red berries contain a chemical called beta-sitosterol, which has been shown to stop the transport of cholesterol from your gastrointestinal tract to your bloodstream. Goji-berries are also rich in antioxidants. |
• Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna, C. oxyacantha) |
This herb is a proven heart-protector. It can increase exercise tolerance, reduce cholesterol, and relieve shortness of breath in heart patients. |
