High Cholesterol and Heart Attacks

"Cholesterol screening is currently the gold standard for predicting heart attack risk, but nearly half of all heart attacks occur among men and women with normal cholesterol levels," notes Paul Ridker, a cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Does this surprise you? Most people are shocked to learn how little correlation there is between elevated cholesterol and heart attacks. Let’s look at the benefits of cholesterol, why some may experience elevated cholesterol, and heart attack markers that are more accurate in predicting heart attacks than cholesterol levels.

“Good” Cholesterol?

We typically talk about blood lipids in terms of total cholesterol: LDL (bad) cholesterol and HDL (good) cholesterol. We use the relative values of each of these fats in our blood to determine where we stand in terms of disease risk. Unfortunately, these numbers are misleading in half of the cases, leading to a false sense of alarm or security.

Cholesterol serves as the raw material from which your body makes many hormones. Vitamin D is made from cholesterol and many life-ending diseases are associated with a deficiency of Vitamin D.

In truth, all cholesterol is good in the proper balance – even LDL! Cholesterol-rich tissues such as brain cells rely on the fats delivered by LDL in order to function at their best. LDL brings the cholesterol from the liver to the place where it is needed; HDL carries unused cholesterol back to the liver for storage, recycling or excretion.

Why Cholesterol Levels Rise

Increased Demand

The most common reason why cholesterol levels rise is to supply an increased demand. For example, when your body needs to nourish brain cells or build hormones or Vitamin D, special messengers will be sent to request cholesterol release from the liver to meet the demand for this important raw material. Once your needs have been met, your body should reduce cholesterol production. However, with unrelenting stress and unyielding demands on our limited resources, the message to stop producing cholesterol may never get through.

Stress

Stress is one common reason why cholesterol levels rise.

Low-fiber Diet

Another reason is that we eat a low-fiber diet. Cholesterol is recycled from the liver through the bile into the intestines and back to the liver. In a diet with minimum fiber levels (under age 50: 25 grams for women, 38 grams for men; over age 50: 21 grams for women, 30 grams for men) the excess levels of cholesterol will be absorbed and eliminated. In low-fiber diets the cholesterol is reabsorbed and recycled. The system becomes “closed” and levels rise.

Hypercholesterolemia

A third, less common reason for elevated cholesterol levels is fatal familial hypercholesterolemia – a rare genetic condition that causes cholesterol levels to rise uncontrollably. Statin medications were designed to combat this condition.

Reducing Cholesterol And Heart Attacks

As mentioned at the outset, cholesterol levels alone do not serve us very well as determinants of heart attack risk. Homocysteine (HCY) levels are much more accurate in predicting who is at risk, and C-Reactive protein (CRP) is the best predictor for heart attack (as well as many other really bad conditions!).

Elevated cholesterol levels may be reduced with fiber such as TriVita’s Peaches and Cream; elevated homocysteine levels may be reduced with products such as TriVita’s HCY Guard. C-Reactive protein has been reduced quite consistently with essential fatty acid supplements such as OmegaPrime (1–6 grams daily). In medical literature, Omega-3 fats are consistently associated with reduced inflammation and reduced heart attack risk. Interestingly, some people respond well to fish oil while others respond better to flaxseed oil – a key reason why both ingredients are in OmegaPrime.

Learning To Listen

High cholesterol levels on a blood test should be viewed as warning signals from our bodies. Elevated homocysteine sounds a louder alarm and high C-Reactive protein levels sound the loudest siren of all. We can translate these alarms into valid communication by learning what each lab value means and learn how to address them in terms of nutrients and nurturing.

Learn More…

• Is cholesterol “bad”?
• Test CRP for heart attack/stroke prevention

Upcoming Weekly Wellness Reports…

• Malnutrition In Seniors
• Liver And Kidney Disease
  

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These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.