In nearly every year for which we have records, heart disease has been the number one cause of death in the United States. According to 2015 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 600,000 Americans succumb to heart disease annually. It is a much greater threat to women than many people believe: one in every four women dies from heart disease, and twothirds of women who have heart attacks never recover fully. Over the past three decades, more women than men have died of heart disease, and the survival gap continues to grow. Sadly, as Dr. Sherrill Sellman explains in this chapter, in their mad-dash attempt to prevent heart disease in women many doctors rushed into hormone replacement therapy (HRT) without knowing the alarming facts that later emerged—not only does HRT not protect the heart, it also increases the risk of stroke and cancer. Fortunately, there are many natural ways to maintain the integrity of the heart, not just in terms of physical health, but mental, emotional, and spiritual as well.
“Overall, there are 247 risk factors that can damage the heart,” states Dr. David Steenblock, a complementary physician from California. “A risk factor is anything that injures the inner lining of the blood vessels that supply the heart with oxygen and nutrition. Any agent that injures this inner lining, such as tobacco, air pollution, food additives, high blood pressure, and gasoline fumes, can initiate atherosclerosis, the so-called hardening of the arteries. Then the accumulation of such things as cholesterol, calcium, scar tissue, and fat causes atherosclerotic lesions, which gradually go on to occlude, or block, the arteries to the brain and the heart. When the arteries to the brain [the carotid arteries] are blocked, you have a stroke, and when the arteries to the heart [the coronary arteries] are blocked, you have a heart attack.”
High blood pressure (hypertension), which affects some 50 million Americans, increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Dr. Michael Janson, former president of the American Preventive Medical Association and author of The Vitamin Revolution in Health Care says, “High blood pressure can be the result of dietary habits; lack of exercise; high stress; being overweight; having too much caffeine, sugar, alcohol, or, in particular, salt in the diet. In the past few years, some reports have said that salt does not make much of a difference for most people. The fact is, that’s not true. Even a slight elevation in blood pressure is enough to increase the risk of heart disease.”
Among the more recently identified potential risk factors for heart disease are high levels of the amino acid homocysteine, high fibrinogen (a blood-clotting protein), and certain viral and bacterial infections. An elevation in the level of C-reactive protein, a substance in the blood that indicates the presence of inflammation, is also thought to be involved.
Dr. Janson describes other common heart ailments, some of which are precipitated by atherosclerosis. In angina pectoris, he explains, “clogged arteries leave the heart muscle with inadequate oxygen. As everyone knows, muscles hurt when exercised beyond their oxygen capacity. When not enough blood flows from the coronary arteries to the heart muscle, people experience pain in the chest. Sometimes they feel pain in the jaw, the shoulder, or even the wrist. Often they do not realize that this is referred pain coming from the heart itself.”
Congestive heart failure is another common heart problem. “Hardening of the coronary arteries can lead to a number of other problems,” Dr. Janson explains. “When heart muscle tissue functions inefficiently, more blood comes in than is pumped out. In other words, with each beat the amount of blood being returned to the heart is more than the heart muscle can handle. Fluid backs up, and other tissues, such as the lungs and legs, can get congested. Congestive heart failure leads to shortness of breath, water in the lungs, and swelling of the ankles.”
Heart disease is a gradual process that takes years to develop into a serious condition. At first there are no warning signs. There may be an increasing sense of tiredness and fatigue, as well as lack of stamina. If the coronary arteries become severely blocked, a woman may experience shortness of breath or chest pressure and pain (angina pectoris) that is relieved by rest. Other signs of an impending heart attack may include light-headedness, sweating, nausea, and pain spreading to the shoulders, neck, or arms. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of or overlook these signs: 50 percent of all people who have heart attacks wait two hours or longer before seeking treatment, and many die before reaching the hospital.
Diagnosis is an important first step. Before anyone begins a cardiovascular health program, a doctor should take the following factors into account: family history, blood pressure, cholesterol level, weight, and stress electrocardiogram (ECG) tests. After assessment of a woman’s risk factors, the program can begin.
Conventional treatment of heart disease often involves the use of medication to address symptoms such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. And every year, well over 1 million Americans undergo surgery such as coronary bypass and angioplasty (in which a balloon catheter is used to open clogged arteries) to restore their hearts.
Dr. Janson believes the general public is being misled into believing that medications for high blood pressure are safe and always necessary. “We all hear advertisements on the radio telling us to stay on these medications for life. They say that no symptoms tell you whether or not your blood pressure is high. Therefore, if you are taking medication for high blood pressure, you must stay on your medication and never, ever stop. That so-called public-service announcement is really a sales pitch from the drug companies that make the medications. We know that these medications actually cause more heart disease and that they create side effects in addition to the high blood pressure.”
Dr. Cynthia Thaik, who has developed a national foundation that educates people and physicians on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, and wrote Your Vibrant Heart: Restoring Health, Strength and Spirit from the Body’s Core, agrees. “We are so quick to diagnose diseases and so quick to use the quick fix in terms of pharmaceuticals.... I always tell my patients: when we use pharmaceuticals to lower your blood pressure, your cholesterol, or diabetes, those lower the numbers. They don’t change anything regarding the metabolism, the inflammation, or the actual derangements that are occurring within your body.”
Dr. David Steenblock warns, however, that patients who depend on medication to control high blood pressure should not self-discontinue. “Many people have this idea that since the doctor is not getting at the cause of their high blood pressure, it is somewhat illogical for them to take their blood pressure medicine. True, doctors often do not have the answer. Still, if you fail to take your medicine and your blood pressure gets out of control, you can develop heart disease and go on to have a stroke.”
Statins such as Zocor and Lipitor are often prescribed to lower cholesterol levels, and thereby prevent heart attacks and stroke. Many women who have high cholesterol but no sign or history of heart disease are taking these drugs, and facing the risk of serious side effects without even attempting natural therapies. Dr. Sherill Sellman, a natural health practitioner and internationally respected lecturer and author on women’s health, tells us more.
“The fact of the matter is there’s only one population that really seems to benefit, if at all, from statins and that’s men who’ve already had a heart attack. It has not shown to really be effective for women prophylactically. . . . The story about cholesterol is really a story of inflammation, the result of damage in the arteries from inflammatory response. We’ve got to reduce inflammation and part of that process, obviously, is getting the hormones balanced and reducing that estrogen excess pattern that can drive the very reasons that the arteries become damaged. It’s not a statin drug that we need.”
Nothing illustrates the problem with medication better than the debacle related to hormone replace therapy (HRT). In the 1990s, many doctors began prescribing HRT to help prevent heart disease in women. A Harvard study of about 46,000 female nurses had found that those who had taken HRT had a lower incidence of heart disease by up to 50 percent. However, when that study was more fully investigated, it turned out that the women with lower rates of heart disease were actually women who were healthier in general. Compared to the group who were supposed to have a greater incidence of heart disease, they were wealthier, more likely to exercise, and had better diets; fewer of them had diabetes, and they smoked less. The women who didn’t take HRT were more likely to have dia-betes, smoked, were poorer, and didn’t visit their doctors. Also not reported in the study was the fact that the women who took HRT had a 50 percent increase in strokes. This, then, was a flawed, biased study.
“The rationale for giving HRT to postmenopausal women was that when you arrive at menopause, your risk of getting heart disease or stroke will skyrocket and, therefore, you need protection,” says Dr. Sherrill Sellman, a naturopath, psychotherapist, and author the best-selling book Hormone Heresy. But, she says, studies from reputable researchers showed that this was a myth. There was no rapid increase of heart disease in postmenopausal women. There was simply a rise in heart disease as women move on in life in general. The doctors who pushed HRT as a preventive for women’s heart disease seemed not to take into account the fact that men also have a higher incidence of heart disease as they age.
Studies began to come in challenging the theory that hormone replacement therapy was beneficial to the heart. A study published in 2001 found that postmenopausal women with heart problems who took hormone supplements for less than one year actually had a greater risk of another heart attack or death from heart disease than women who were not on HRT. An earlier study, sponsored by Ayerst, the company that manufactured the number-one replacement estrogen, Premarin, yielded similar results. Dr. Sellman explains, “They gave half the women hormone replacement therapy and the other half a placebo. After five years, they discovered that in the first year of treatment, the women taking the HRT had a 50 percent increase in heart attacks. Over the five years, the risk decreased. The conclusion was that women who already had heart conditions got no overall benefit from HRT. But this glossed over the horrible fact that HRT increased heart problems the first year. What was more, women taking it had three times as many blood clots in the legs than women taking the placebo. There was also an increase in gallbladder disease.”
In 2001, the American Heart Association finally took heed of the growing scientific evidence and shifted its stance, advising against the use of hormone replacement therapy to prevent heart disease in women. And, in 2003, a major government trial, known as the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), definitively linked the long-term use of combined estrogen and progestin as menopausal hormone therapy to an increased risk of heart disease, as well as stroke and breast cancer. As described in a 2007 press release issued by the National Institutes of Health, “both the estrogen plus progestin and estrogen-alone trials of the WHI were stopped early because of increased health risks and the failure to prevent heart disease. Specifically, the estrogen plus progestin trial was stopped after 5.6 years because of an increased risk of breast cancer and because overall risks, including increased risks for heart attack, stroke, and blood clots, outnumbered benefits. The estrogen-alone study was stopped after 6.8 years because of an increased risk of stroke and no reduction in risk of CHD [coronary heart disease]. The estrogenalone study also found an increased risk of blood clots.” The findings suggested that risk due to hormones may differ depending on age or years since menopause.
The solution here is to work with a complementary medical physician until your heart health is restored. In some cases, medication may be needed long term, even for a lifetime, but no one can fail to benefit from improving lifestyle and diet. A number of full alternative therapy programs are available to combat heart disease, including those developed by Dean Ornish, Julian Whitaker, John McDougall, and Eric Braverman. To varying degrees, these and other programs incorporate the following approaches.
The typical American consumes an overload of calories, total fat, saturated fat, added sugar, sodium, and refined grains, and not enough omega-3 fats, fiber, and whole grains, fruits, vegetables and phytonutrients. The average daily intake for adult women is 51 grams of total fat, including 23 grams of saturated fat, 19 grams of monounsaturated fat, and 10 grams of polyunsaturated fat.
There is not much controversy about what is wrong with the standard American diet. But there is controversy over the proper foods for those with heart disease. There are tens of thousands of dietitians in the United States, and they have been a primary source of information on what a sick person should eat. After all, physicians graduate from medical school with only an hour or two of learning about nutrition. However, even though dietitians are well trained, there is a split in the field. Only a very small percentage believe the standard American diet plays a large role in causing the diseases we are beset with, including heart disease.
The American Heart Association recommends that we limit cholesterol intake to less than 300 milligrams daily, and less than 200 milligrams for those with high levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol. Sodium should be less than 2,300 milligrams per day (about 1 teaspoon). Fat should be 25 to 35 percent of total calories daily, with only 7 percent of this in the form of saturated fats (fats found particularly in land animals, palm and coconut oils, and hydrogenated vegetable oils). We have been told that margarine, made from “polyunsaturated fats,” is good for the heart and will lower cholesterol. That is simply not true; margarine is loaded with the fatty acids that contribute to heart disease. Instead of margarine, use olive oil, canola oil, or flaxseed, almond, safflower, sunflower, or soy oil. Of these, olive oil would be at the top of my list. But don’t have margarine.
Dr. Janson adds that people should avoid foods such as sugar, salt, white flour, white rice, and particularly any shortening or hydrogenated vegetable oils found in products like margarine and vegetable shortening: “Whenever you see vegetable shortening, hydrogenated vegetable oil, or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil on a label, avoid that product. These are not foods. In fact, I consider margarine an industrial waste product that is fashioned to resemble food.”
While the dangers of saturated fats to heart health are well known, Dr. Ray Peat, a distinguished scientific researcher in Eugene, Oregon, says unsaturated fats can be just as damaging. “Many people have been soaking their bodies in unsaturated vegetable oil diets for years. As a result, every time they get hungry or face stress, their blood sugar falls, their adrenaline rises, and these unsaturated fats are drawn out of storage. Once released, they immediately start poisoning the lining of the blood vessels and all the cellular energy-producing systems. In 1960, this effect was demonstrated by a group in England, which saw that adrenaline, either natural or synthetic, caused damage to the circulatory system. It turns out that this occurs after unsaturated fats become mobilized. They hit the lining of the blood vessels, where they cause lipid peroxidative damage.”
The power of a vegetarian diet in a cardiovascular health program was recognized in a now-famous study by Dr. Dean Ornish. The Ornish study placed heart patients on a protocol of healthy vegetarian foods, as well as daily aerobic exercise and relaxation. At the end of a year, a significant number of patients showed improvement in their heart condition, and in some the disease was even reversed.
The late Dr. Paul Cutler, a complementary physician from Niagara Falls, New York, said, “Medicine in general owes Ornish a great deal of gratitude. He showed that a drastic reduction of fats was most important. I believe that the total dietary fats should be well below the typical average. Modern nutritionists are saying 30 percent. I try to get fat content down to 10 percent of the total calories. I see improvement in angina just by reducing the fats to that degree.”
Dr. Janson continues, “The diet should be high in complex carbohydrates, including whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits. Remember, flavonoids, which are plant pigments, are present in fruits and vegetables and in some beans and grains. These are very protective, and most of them are not available as supplements.
“I think the diet should be largely vegetarian, although a number of studies show that fish also reduces levels of heart disease and cancer. Fish may or may not be the reason for this. It may be that eating more fish means eating less chicken and meat. Cutting those foods out of the diet helps cut down on heart disease.
Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a clinician and researcher at the Cleveland Clinic and author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, explains that while certain foods are “lethal” to the delicate cells that line the arteries (the endothelium), others are extremely valuable. “The type of food that one wants to consume to restore these endothelial cells is largely plant based,” he says. “That includes grains for your cereal, breads and pasta, but they should be whole grains. You should have all the different type of legumes. Then there are the green leafy vegetables: bok choy, Swiss chard, collard greens, beet greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, napa cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, spinach and kale. We have seen striking reversal of symptoms often within two and three weeks in patients with angina or chest pain when they really eliminate all the foods that are going to injure their arteries and pour in all those wonderful foods.”
Broccoli and other types of produce, seeds, legumes, and grains provide necessary vitamins, and they also contain important phytochemicals. The phytochemicals include beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, ascorbic acid, ash, boron, caffeic acid, calcium, chlorophyll, chromium, citric acid, copper, glycine, iron, linoleic acid, lysine, magnesium, niacin, oleic acid, phosphorus, potassium, riboflavin, selenium, thiamin, tryptophan, and zinc, among others. These chemicals have all kinds of healing properties. Chlorophyll, for instance, helps purify the blood and acts as a detoxifier.
You should have at least nine servings of vegetables and five of fruits each day, raw, steamed, or juiced. Once you start, you will notice a world of difference in your overall vitality. Other valuable heart foods are rice and beans, which are complete proteins rich in fiber and B-complex vitamins.
Many people grow up with the pernicious myth that if it is not an animal protein, it is not a complete protein, and so is not really nutritious. I did studies at the Institute of Applied Biology that proved conclusively that beans, legumes, and all grains contain complete proteins just like animal proteins, without the saturated fats. They are not high in calories and are rich in vitamins, minerals, and essential oils.
Nuts, despite their high fat content, are being found to have some important benefits as well. Not only do they provide protein, they also contain nutrients that can protect against heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. The protein in peanuts, hazelnuts, and walnuts, for example, is a good source of arginine. This amino acid is noted for its ability to produce nitric oxide, which helps blood vessels to widen and may stop or even reverse plaque buildup. These nuts also contain folate, which has been found to lower blood levels of homocysteine. High levels of homocysteine are associated with increased blockage in the arteries.
A Harvard study of 86,000 nurses found that those who ate more than 5 ounces of nuts a week were 35 percent less likely to develop heart disease than those who rarely ate nuts. Other studies have reported similar findings.
“Aerobic exercise and an improved diet should go hand in hand,” noted Dr. Cutler. “Aerobics help the good cholesterol go up significantly, which in turn helps remove cholesterol from arterial walls after the cells are through with it, so it is less likely to form plaque.” Exercising aerobically means getting the heart rate up three or four times a week. A doctor can help determine how much exercise is needed.
Dr. Janson adds that people should stretch before and after an aerobic workout. “The stretching has another benefit in that it relaxes the body and keeps people limber and more flexible. That makes it easier to continue an aerobic exercise program.”
Exercise is not a panacea, however. Some people mistakenly assume that cholesterol can be burned off by exercise and activity and that as a result, people who engage in athletics and body building can eat more meat and eggs without suffering ill effects. There is no scientific basis for this notion. To the contrary, studies have shown that good conditioning and muscle tone do not necessarily put a person in good cardiovascular condition. Dr. Julian Whitaker refers to studies done on marathon runners in South
Africa, in which five died of heart attacks. “These were conditioned long-distance runners. They all had cholesterol levels of 270, 290, et cetera. They were very fit but not very well.”
Supplements provide wonderful support for the heart and sometimes help eliminate or reduce dosages of medication. Antioxidants help protect the heart from free radical damage, also known as oxidation. Antioxidant nutrients include vitamin E, vitamin D3, and vitamin C (see below), beta-carotene, and selenium. Free radicals damage the tissues lining the arteries, which leads to atherosclerosis and plaque deposits. Antioxidants, particularly vitamin C, can prevent this from happening by protecting the lining of the arteries. The following are nutrients you should know about.
L-ARGININE—L-arginine is an amino acid that has been receiving welldeserved attention in the medical literature for its ability to produce nitric oxide. Nitric oxide benefits the arterial walls in several ways. It helps the smooth muscles in the arterial walls relax, promoting an antianginal, antihypertensive, and antistress effect. Additionally, research shows that L-arginine reduces the activation of platelets, the small bodies that can initiate arterial spasm and plaque development. Other studies show that L-arginine slows plaque development and even reverses small amounts of plaque buildup. “I’ve seen it work,” said Dr. Cutler. “Taking 2 to 3 grams of L-arginine per day has quite a marked antianginal effect. L-arginine is now a must in my protocol for nutrients. Usually I start with about 1,000 milligrams per day, and raise the levels if that amount isn’t helping.”
L-CARNITINE—The heart muscle needs to burn fat for energy, and L-carnitine allows this to happen. Dr. Janson explains: “L-carnitine gets fat into the little engines inside the cells called mitochondria. These little mitochondrial engines are where fat is burned for energy. Your heart muscle needs to burn fat for energy, and the only way it can get the fat into that little engine is with the amino acid L-carnitine. At the same time, that inner mitochondrial membrane requires another nutrient to burn the fat: coenzyme Q10.” Dr. Janson recommends that people take 500 milligrams L-carnitine two to three times a day. You should take L-carnitine along with vitamin E, because they work together synergistically.
CHROMIUM PICOLINATE—Chromium picolinate has been shown to be beneficial both for the heart and for blood sugar levels.
COENZYME Q10—Coenzyme Q10 is a nutrient that should be taken by anyone who has heart problems or who wants to avoid getting them. Along with L-carnitine, it helps prevent angina and protects the heart muscle by letting it burn fat for energy more easily. It also improves heart health by reducing blood pressure and arrhythmias. As an antioxidant, it prevents the damage to blood vessels that leads to hardening of the arteries. Therapeutic levels are between 50 and 200 milligrams for mild heart disease. More severe heart disease may respond to 200 to 300 milligrams.
LECITHIN—Lecithin is made from soy. Not only does it keep the arteries strong and healthy, but it also helps emulsify fats, helps the brain, and is good for memory.
MAGNESIUM—Magnesium increases blood flow by allowing muscles in the arterial wall to relax. Usually 1,000 milligrams are needed.
MAXEPA—MaxEPA, a combination of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosohexaenoic acid), also known as fish oil, is part of the omega-3 and omega6 fatty acids found in salmon, sardines, and mackerel. Since many people do not eat these fish, they should be getting these fatty acids in fish oil. The recommended daily dose is 500 to 1,000 milligrams. Clinical and epidemiological experience as well as scientific studies have found that people who eat a lot of fish have less heart disease than people who do not.
NIACIN (VITAMINB3)—A fifteen-year study on the effects of niacin published by the American Heart Association in the mid-1980s connected the use of niacin to a significant reduction in heart attacks and death from heart disease. Long-term niacin use has also been associated with decreased rates of cancer. Niacin should be taken under medical supervision, since it can affect liver function.
TAURINE—Taurine, an amino acid, is another important antioxidant that helps prevent atherosclerosis. Additionally, it can avert heart failure by improving the strength of the heart’s contraction. That increases the outflow of blood from the heart and reduces congestive heart failure. Generally, 500 milligrams are taken twice a day.
THYROID SUPPLEMENTS—Thyroid supplementation may normalize high cholesterol. According to Dr. Ray Peat, “High cholesterol indicates a thyroid hormone deficiency. A clear demonstration of this was seen in patients whose thyroid glands were surgically removed. After the operation, cholesterol levels became abnormally high, but they returned to normal with thyroid supplementation.” He adds that thyroid extract is linked to fewer heart attacks. “One of the foremost American researchers in the field, Broda Barnes, wrote Solved: The Riddle of Heart Attacks after finding that patients in one group had far fewer heart attacks than did patients in another group. All the low-heart-attack group did differently was take thyroid when they needed it.”
B VITAMINS—Vitamin B1 (thiamine) is the most important B vitamin for the heart: 25 to 50 milligrams daily are recommended. Dr. Janson says that other B vitamins, such as folic acid and B12, can help lower blood levels of homocysteine.
VITAMIN C—If there is one vitamin everyone needs to take every day, it is vitamin C. Get over that old-fashioned idea that all you need is one glass of orange juice to get the necessary vitamin C. Now we have thousands of studies of the valuable properties of vitamin C, which can help with everything from cancer to heart disease and diabetes. I would take 500 to 1,000 milligrams, five times a day. Vitamin C washes out of the system, so you need to take it throughout the day. Two well-known specialists in coronary heart disease recommend that their patients take vitamin C before going to bed at night because they find it helps prevent heart attacks during sleep and in the morning, which is when the majority of heart attacks occur.
VITAMIN E—Vitamin E has several functions. Aside from being a protective antioxidant, it reduces the stickiness of the platelets, little blood fragments that initiate blood clots. This effect is helped by the addition of essential fatty acids and garlic to the diet. Minimizing free radical damage and keeping platelets from clogging the arteries give arteries a chance to heal and recover. There is more room for oxygen to flow through the arteries to reach tissues. It is estimated that between 400 and 800 international units (IU) are useful in preventing stroke. You may go higher, up to 1,200 or 1,600 units, unless other medical conditions preclude a higher level. I believe we would cut the incidence of stroke by 20 percent, saving 50,000 to 100,000 people a year, just by having everyone take this little, inexpensive supplement.
OTHER—In addition, other beneficial supplements are chondroitin sulfate A, evening primrose oil (1,500 mg/day), Rejuna (300 mg), Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins (30 mg), Omega3 Fatty Acids (3000 mg), Olive extract (500 mg), PQQ (20 mg), curcuminoids (700 mg), decaf green tea (1000 mg), and Cytokine Supress with EGCG (300mg).
In addition to the herbs listed below, consider taking barberry, black cohosh, and butcher’s broom.
BUGLEWEED—Bugleweed is a remedy for heart palpitations and elevated blood pressure. It may also alleviate anxiety, since elevated blood pressure is frequently associated with a rapid pulse rate, anxiety, and agitation.
CAYENNE—Capsaicin, the active ingredient in cayenne, helps the heart in many ways. It stimulates circulatory function, lowers cholesterol, reduces blood pressure, and lessens the chance of heart attacks and strokes. By decreasing blood levels of fibrin, it also reduces the risk of forming blood clots that cause heart attacks and strokes.
GARLIC—Among its many benefits, garlic helps lower blood pressure and decrease cholesterol. When combined with vitamin E, it lessens the frequency of blood clots in arterial walls, which in turn helps prevent heart attacks and strokes. The recommended amount is 2,000 milligrams per day.
GINKGO BILOBA—Ginkgo biloba helps improve small blood vessel circulation.
HAWTHORN BERRY—Hawthorn is an overall heart tonic that works against arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), angina, high blood pressure, and hardening of the arteries. It aids circulation and ameliorates valvular insufficiency and an irregular pulse. Hawthorn berry can also correct acid conditions of the blood. It can be safely taken every day.
MISTLETOE—Mistletoe is a cardiac tonic that stimulates circulation. Fifteen drops of tincture taken three times a day or three cups of tea daily can help lower blood pressure and alleviate heart strain. Mistletoe should not be overused, nor should the berries be eaten.
MOTHERWORT—Motherwort helps stabilize the electrical rhythm of the heart. The amount taken should be monitored by a doctor.
WILD YAM—Wild yam stimulates production of DHEA. Low levels of this hormone have been related to higher incidences of heart disease.
Letha Hadady, one of the leading herbalists in the United States, says most Americans do not go to the doctor when they are a little sick; they wait until they are really suffering. They may have chest pains or difficulty breathing, but they generally don’t go to the doctor or, of course, to the herbalist. They say, “I’m tired; I’m under stress,” and ignore it. That is a problematic approach because some of the associated conditions of heart disease are the ones they are complaining of: fatigue, stress, and poor digestion. Poor digestion and fatigue lead to cholesterol buildup, which leads to pain and heart congestion. People try to breathe more deeply and reduce stress when they experience these early symptoms, but that does not help. However, changing your diet, taking herbs and foods that reduce cholesterol will definitely help.
Hadady’s clients often have conditions that they believe are unrelated to heart disease, but her special training as an herbalist enables her to see a connection to the heart. Mind, body, and spirit are interconnected, and the heart is affected by all of these. Depression, for example, is related to a weak heart. Insomnia, poor concentration, and palpitations are all signs that poor circulation could be affecting the heart.
Many Western doctors will say that herbs have not been tested. But when you go to a public library or consult an online medical search and reference service such as Medline, which is available free to any interested person, you find 3,500 studies on Chinese herbs alone. The majority of the research is done in Asia.
Quite a number of these remedies are available in health food stores, by mail order, or in your local Chinatown. The ingredients are always in English or Latin on the back.
Hadady points out that one of the major underlying problems associated with heart disease is fatigue. Chinese doctors link the heart’s health to the strength of the adrenal glands—not an obvious connection. Hadady states, “If I had a patient complaining of fatigue and being overweight, I would suspect heart problems— if not then, somewhere down the line, so I would work on the adrenals. To strengthen the adrenals, you can get the herbal preparation from Chinatown called Goldenbook. It adds to immune energy and will help with kidney and heart problems. We strengthen what is weak so that the heart will not falter.”
Hadady explains that clove is a strong stimulant. A pinch in the late afternoon will act like coffee. Coffee is a major problem because it increases painful, sluggish circulation in the gastrointestinal tract that affects the whole circulation, meaning that the heart will not run smoothly. A pinch of clove will replace coffee better than anything else can.
Siberian ginseng, a blend of various ginsengs, is beneficial. The ginsengs are adaptogens; that is, they help us maintain energy as well as aid us in living under a high level of stress. They support the nervous system. Raw Tienchi ginseng, one that Americans are less familiar with, comes in powdered form. A half teaspoon in cool water, taken every day, will reduce cholesterol and pain around the heart.
One Chinese remedy that is especially valuable in relation to heart pain and blood vessel congestion is dan shen wan, which combines salvia and camphor. The camphor dilates the blood vessels while the salvia increases the heart’s action. Another valuable remedy is guan xin su he wan, which contains frankincense. Both frankincense and myrrh improve circulation. Frankincense increases blood flow around the heart. You can take it once a day to prevent heart attack. It can be chewed and swallowed. Hadady recommends it even if you have no heart symptoms. It has healthy ingredients such as liquid amber and sandalwood, which keep the esophagus and chest cool.
Yang shen jia jiao wan is a combination of ginseng and other herbs that free the circulation of the blood in the brain. This is not just for victims of heart attack but also for those with stroke and hemiplegia (paralysis of one side of the body).People with high cholesterol and those at high risk of heart trouble can take one dose a day as a preventive measure.
Baoxin wan is a remedy for heart attacks. If you feel faint and experience pain and weakness, you sniff it like a smelling salt. If the pain is great and you feel the onset of an attack, take it orally. It includes ginseng and liquid amber. It treats the congestion of the blood vessels around the heart and opens them up.
Some of the underlying problems leading to a heart attack, such as excess weight and cholesterol, are well countered by herbal remedies. One preparation whose name is self-explanatory is Keep Fit, Reduce Fat. The ingredients are ginseng, hawthorn, and other herbs that are good for the heart. Hawthorn, a slightly bitter, slightly sour berry, works as a digestive. You can take a capsule of Keep Fit after meals. Cholesterol is reduced, and the muscle of the heart is made stronger.
Evening primrose oil is another useful herb for reducing cholesterol. Chinatown is an excellent place to purchase this remedy since the prices are apt to be considerably lower than those for comparable items in health food stores.
Another popular remedy in Asia is green tea, which has been reported in the popular press as being very good for reducing cholesterol. “This is a good alternative to other caffeine teas,” Hadady notes, “because the caffeine in it is very low. It gives the satisfaction of a bitter tea while reducing cholesterol.”
Bojemni slimming tea protects the heart. It includes hawthorn. Xiao yao wan, a digestive remedy that boosts circulation and combats depression, contains ginger, mint, and other herbs; it eases the flow of bile, eases the digestive process, and reduces chest congestion.
Digestive Harmony is an American-made product that contains Chinese herbs, one of many such products that are now on the market and sold door to door or through mail order. “This is part of a trend now,” Hadady explains, “a very important trend in herbalism, of using Asian herbs manufactured with American standards. Digestive Harmony can be ordered from Oakland, California. It will ease the underlying troubles related to heart disease.
“Remember that depression is in part a heart problem,” Hadady goes on. “The heart is not just a circulatory center, but is related to our emotions. Depression is rightly associated with heart disease since it affects the heartbeat. When we are not happy and our emotions are not smooth, we feel it in the heart.
“Some remedies that combat depression come to us from China. Schizandra strengthens the energy level and keeps us from losing the energy we have. It is good for both the adrenals and the heart. It fights against poor memory, poor concentration, and depression. Also try anshen bu nao pien, available in all the Chinatowns in the United States. It is for depression, blood deficiencies, and heart-related problems such as panic and anxiety.
“Also useful is mao dong qing, which is the Chinese name for holly, and it comes in capsule form. It is for chest pain and prevention of heart trouble. You can take several of these capsules each day as a preventive. If you already have heart problems, it reduces cholesterol, congestion, and pains.
“In general,” Hadady concludes, “Chinese remedies for the heart treat not just pain but also emotional problems: sadness, anxieties, and other mental suffering.”
Chelation therapy, which is being administered to hundreds of thousands of heart disease patients, is proving quite successful, and is considerably safer and substantially less expensive than bypass surgery. It is not new, having been in use since the 1950s. In 2013, the skeptical mainstream medical community was surprised when the procedure received a stamp of approval from the US government: a $30 million, multicenter study of chelation therapy for coronary artery disease conducted by the National Institutes of Health showed a “modest but statistically significant” reduction in cardiovascular events, with the greatest benefit seen in people with diabetes when high-dose vitamins and minerals were also used.
Chelation involves the infusion into the bloodstream of the amino acid EDTA. The EDTA bonds with toxic metals and calcium and carries them out of the bloodstream through the kidneys, slowing or reversing some plaque formation in the arteries and thus retarding the degenerative process. EDTA enhances blood flow, permitting more essential oxygen and nutrients to circulate and be absorbed by the body. As chelation therapy is more commonly used, chelation specialists feel that it will become the most important heart disease therapy offered in the future.
As Dr. Steenblock describes, “EDTA binds with calcium that has deposited in artery walls and is excreted from the body through the kidneys. In addition, it breaks down scar tissue and allows the arteries to become softer. In other words, it takes the hard out of hardening of the arteries.”
When deciding whether or not to administer chelation therapy, Dr. Cutler tests patients for heavy metal buildup. “I look for elevated iron and copper levels in the blood. I also measure something called the serum ferritin, which reflects artery tissue levels of iron. If I start chelation, as the iron levels come down in the blood, there are also clinical improvements in angina and exercise tests. And there are angiogram and treadmill test improvements as well.
“If I do not find any abnormality in these metals, I do what is called a challenge, which means I give one chelation treatment, collect urine for twenty-four hours afterward, and observe the metals that come out. Based on these results, I make the decision as to whether I want to chelate the person.”
Dr. Steenblock, who has administered chelation therapy for more than twentyfive years, uses the treatment more extensively. He explains why it is so valuable for most individuals. “In their forties most people develop some degree of atherosclerosis due to cholesterol, scar tissue, fat, and calcium, which accumulate in the artery walls.
“You have to try to prevent all these risk factors by keeping your diet low in fat and cholesterol and by exercising, thinking properly, avoiding chemicals, and taking antioxidants to protect the inner lining of the blood vessels. In addition, you can break down scar tissue and remove calcium with chelation.
“Studies show that if you start chelating in your forties, you can actually reverse all the atherosclerosis as soon as it starts to develop. If you have done things that have not been perfect in your life—you haven’t eaten right, you have been under too much stress, you have smoked—by the time you are forty, you will have some degree of atherosclerosis. Chelation can reverse this process and keep those arteries more pristine.
“By the time you are sixty, the amount of calcium that has been deposited in your arteries is ten times what you had in your arteries at ten years of age. Al Fleckenstein, a leading cardiovascular drug researcher, says in one of his books that the amount of calcium present in the walls of the arteries is the single most important risk factor in the development of atherosclerosis. In other words, as calcium accumulates in the arterial walls, it promotes the development of atherosclerosis; atherosclerosis develops because you are gradually accumulating this calcium. If you can remove the calcium somewhere between the ages of 40 and 60, you can change that ratio, reverse the whole process, and put off the development of atherosclerosis for a number of years. That’s for prevention.
“Of course, if you have outright disease, you can be helped as well. I have been doing chelation since 1977, so I have treated thousands of patients, and most do not come for prevention. They come for treatment of disease. They come in with angina or claudication [lameness due to leg pain]. With chelation, most of the time these symptoms disappear. If they do not, it is usually because the person has advanced disease and needs more than the standard thirty treatments. When people who are seventy-five or eighty years old come in with advanced disease, I tell them that they need to start out with thirty treatments—that’s one treatment twice or three times a week. They wait a month or two, and then come back and do another thirty. This process continues until we clean out these arteries, because it takes time to reverse all of the terribly occluded blocked arteries that develop over many, many years of bad living.”
Virtually all the authorities agree that if you want to get a handle on heart disease, you have to deal with stress. Stress or distress is a major problem for the American psyche.
For a long while we have known that stress is a contributor to heart disease, but only recently have we begun to understand the physiological basis of the connection.
Dr. Richard Friedman of Harvard Medical School remarks that when confronted with stressful situations, most people try to oversolve the problem. We constantly try to fit square pegs into round holes, and when we find that is not going to work, we turn inward, brood, and look for ways to dissipate stress, frequently by acting inappropriately, such as overeating, drinking, or taking inappropriate drugs or medications. This contributes to the disease process.
Dr. Friedman says there is a link between stress and cardiovascular disease. When we are stressed by a fear of physical or psychological danger, the body exhibits a fight-or-flight response as it prepares to deal with an enemy. Recent research indicates that the body readies itself not to bleed if it is cut or injured, which makes a lot of sense from a biological and evolutionary perspective. However, if the threats are psychological and you have a bad diet, you may be going through stressful incidents twenty or thirty times a day, triggering the fight-orflight response. Each time this happens, the body prepares not to bleed by making the blood platelets stickier. This internal clotting takes place every time you get angry, whether on a supermarket line or in a traffic jam. Over time this continual clotting can contribute to plaque buildup in the arteries.
Stress also contributes to heart disease by increasing free radical damage to tissues and increasing spasms in the arterial walls.
When you are exposed to a biochemical or psychological stress, a host of changes take place in addition to platelet stickiness. The body’s ability to fight off viral and bacterial infection is lessened by the weaknesses induced by stress. Stress compromises the immune system’s ability to fight off opportunistic diseases.
There is some good news, though, about our ability to fight off the debilitating conditions that lead to a heart attack. Dr. Friedman notes that just as continued stress leads to a weakening of the system, there is an opposite effect, one that has been labeled by his colleague at Harvard, Dr. Herbert Benson, the “relaxation response.” Eliciting this calming response on a daily basis makes it less likely that you will have high blood pressure, arteriosclerotic plaque buildup, or a heart attack down the road.
The relaxation response should be combined with other behavior modifications to create a healthier response to stress, and all these techniques should be combined with the best medical care. That is the way to optimize your health.
Dr. Friedman tells us how the relaxation response is induced: use whatever strategy you have available to let go of any muscle tension you may be experiencing. Make sure your muscles are loose and your jaw lets go. After you feel a bit more comfortable, focus your attention on your breathing. If you find yourself having any distracting thoughts, do not let them bother you or take you away from the process. As soon as you have a distracting thought, simply say to yourself, “Oh well,” and return to a concentration on your breathing and to a thought or image that allows you to stay calm, peaceful, and relaxed. Become aware of the cool air coming into your nostrils and the warm air going out. Keep this up till you are deeply relaxed.
HeartMath is a program that uses specific techniques and exercises to improve physical, emotional, spiritual health by making a deeper connection with the heart. It uses biofeedback and positive emotional balancing. “In terms of really changing our being, HeartMath is doing a lot of work in looking at the heart as having more neuroconnectivity,” says Dr. Thaik. “The emotions that we resonate with in our heart then turn around and have impact on our brain biochemistry. It has affects within our GI tract and our immune system in terms of allowing us to protect ourselves.”
Other ways to overcome stress are exercise, deep breathing, visualization, tai chi, yoga, meditation, qi gong, mantras, massage, Reiki, biofeedback, and aromatherapy. An essential oil blend of ylang ylang, lavender or peppermint, and marjoram added to oil and applied during massage helps calm the system and may even lower blood pressure.
Dr. Paul Cutler said that research links the Helicobacter pylori bacterium to high incidences of heart attacks and strokes. “Helicobacter pylori causes ulcers and chronic gastritis. Most practitioners are well aware of the higher incidence of stomach complaints in patients with heart disease. Apparently, this little bacterium, which comes from contaminated foods, burrows its way into the stomach wall. In its attempt to fight off the body’s defenses, it produces toxins that initiate plaque development and thickening of the blood. This points to a strong correlation between stomach ulcer disease and coronary artery disease.”
Fortunately, this problem is simple to cure, said Dr. Cutler: “You can use one particular type of honey that is high in hydrogen peroxide or cider vinegar, bismuth, and extracts of licorice. Or you can take a one-week course of three antibiotics to kill this bacteria, probably 97 percent of the time. It is very gratifying as a physician to see not only stomach symptoms but angina improve, sometimes dramatically, with the treatment of this common bacterial parasite.”
The late Dr. Ken Korins explained how his specialty, homeopathy, seems to get results with heart disease. “Homeopathy works by giving very small doses that are extremely individualized to the person’s symptoms and physical state. These doses work by means of a type of vibration or energy that stimulates the body much as acupuncture does.”
Many traditional practitioners dismiss homeopathy. These physicians say this therapy has never been proven by randomized, double-blind studies in the way more scientific procedures have been. Dr. Korins argued that is absolutely incorrect. He told us that nearly twenty years ago the British Medical Journal reviewed 107 clinical studies of homeopathy. About 80 percent found that homeopathy had positive effects. Many of these were extremely rigorous studies. A double-blind study in the Journal of Pediatrics, for example, showed extraordinary results from homeopathy.
What kinds of heart problems improve with homeopathy? Hypertension is one. Homeopathy can also help people recovering from congestive heart failure, cerebrovascular accidents, arteriosclerotic heart disease, and a wide range of other conditions.
In classical homeopathy, the specialist selects a single remedy. Korins elaborated: “We don’t rely on a lot of tests and the high technology that goes with them. We prefer to look at what symptoms a person has and how they present themselves. For example, if a person is having angina, tightness, a squeezing sensation, a remedy such as hawthorn cactus, which is extremely effective in treating angina, is called for.”
An Asian treatment that has some success with heart patients is the manipulation of qi (chi) energy. This term refers to all the nonliquid, biological energy that circulates through the body. Dr. Jeie Atacama uses qi to accomplish healing. He estimates that he has helped some 5,000 people. Rebalancing qi energy can help greatly with heart disease by rebuilding the body’s health and restoring its selfhealing powers.
This practice works exactly like acupuncture. It does not use needles, but it shares with acupuncture a focus on the meridians of the body. In a technique he learned from his father, Dr. Atacama uses his fingers directly on the patient’s skin. Points are found on either side near the base of the spine. The treatment session should be done three times a week for as many weeks as are called for by the condition. If the problem is cramps in the leg due to poor circulation, ten sessions will get rid of the problem.
Healing practices such as tai chi and qi gong depend on channeling internal qi energies to rebalance the body.
Most healing programs focus on physical modalities. We look at diet, exercise, supplements, and substances to avoid, but people are beginning to understand that more subtle factors have a powerful influence as well. Dr. Ron Scolastico, a spiritual counselor and author of Healing the Heart, Healing the Body, believes that the process of remaining healthy involves four important elements: “The first element is our physical life, which most people know a great deal about. The second element looks at our mental life. It is becoming clearer and clearer that our thoughts promote or hinder health and in some cases actually cause disease. The third element addresses our emotional lives. Feelings, particularly love, have a profound effect. The fourth element addresses spiritual factors. I believe those energies come from the soul, which is an incredible source of power, love, and wisdom inside each of us.”
Dr. Scolastico says we must draw on each of these factors as needed. Sometimes we must take physical steps such as seeing a doctor and taking medications or herbs, but sometimes that is not enough. “For example, one of my clients developed congestive heart failure after a painful divorce, along with pericarditis, which is an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart. She failed to respond to medical treatment, and her condition began to worsen. As I worked with her, she realized that she had lost touch with her soul. The divorce had wreaked such havoc in her emotional life that she could no longer feel love.
“Every day for six months she took an hour to connect with her soul. By doing this, she was able to regain a feeling of deep love for her body and herself. Today she is symptom-free and believes that without inner work she might be dead. So, many times, we need not only physical treatment but mental, emotional, or spiritual work to augment that process.”
To promote health at every level, Dr. Scolastico advises the following:
“A powerful way to enhance self-love,” advises Dr. Scolastico, “is to notice when you are creating negative thoughts and feelings about yourself. Then consciously create an experience of love for yourself right at that moment, using the power of the word to augment the process. You can say, ‘I just noticed I’m creating these negative thoughts and feelings about myself. I now choose to use my imagination, my creativity, and my will to create an inner experience of love for myself right now, in this minute.’”
Another way to build love into our lives is to set aside time each day for cultivating loving energy. Dr. Scolastico says, “For at least five minutes, use your mind, open your heart, and create love in your feelings. You can do that by imagining a person you love. Let your feelings for that person fill you as you bring that loved one fully into your thoughts and feelings. Let the corners of your mouth lift up in a smile. Just let your heart swell with love. You won’t need a scientific test to prove the benefits.”
Equal in importance to self-love is the love we share with others. Connecting with family, friends, and community gives us a sense of belonging that is invaluable to our well-being. A link between social bonds and heart health was reported in Natural Health. The magazine summarized 30 years of research on the town of Rosetto, Pennsylvania, and concluded that the most important risk factor for heart disease is a lack of community and intimate relationships. In this town, people lived in three-generation households with grandparents, parents, and children. There was a lot of interaction among families and much participation in community organizations. The incidence of heart disease was virtually nil even though residents ate high-fat diets and did not go out of their way to exercise. In fact, there was less coronary heart disease in Rosetto than in any other population in the United States.
Dr. Thaik adds that it’s really about learning how to handle the stresses in life and leaning toward the positive vibration and vibrational energy. It’s about having love and gratitude, and looking at the things that bring us joy and happiness. “I tend to tell people that every thought, every motion, leads to instantaneous cascades of hundreds and thousands of neurotransmitters, inflammatory markers, cytokines that we haven’t even begun to touch the surface of. The things such as cortisol and epinephrine. The buildup of hormones then turns around and has actual effects within the body in terms of blood sugar, blood pressure, and heart rate.”
An increasing body of evidence is showing the benefits of natural modalities to overall health and well-being. Following is a sample of recent peer-reviewed scientific studies in the area of heart disease.
According to a 2013 study in the International Journal of Cardiology, aged garlic extract (250 milligrams) with a supplement of vitamin-B12, folic-acid, vitamin B6 and l-arginine was found to reduce the progression of coronary atherosclerosis. A 2015 report in PLoS One described Whole Body Periodic Acceleration (pGz), a noninvasive technology that improves cardiac function after myocardial infarction by increasing pulsatile shear stress to the endothelium. A 2011 article in the Townsend Letter provided abstracts of research confirming that magnesium may reduce risk of sudden heart failure, multivitamins may decrease risks of heart attack, and healthy proteins lower heart disease risk. Using data from nearly 90,000 women in the long term Nurses’ Health Study, scientists at Harvard Medical School reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2010 that women with the highest dietary intakes of magnesium had a 37 percent reduction in risk of sudden cardiac death. A 2010 report in Circulation also cited data from the Nurses’ Health Study indicating that women aged thirty to fifty-five who substituted other protein-rich foods for one serving of red meat per day had the following reductions in risk of coronary heart disease: 30 percent with one serving of nuts, 24 percent with one serving of fish, 19 percent with one serving of poultry, and 13 percent with one serving of low-fat dairy. Swedish researchers reported in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2010 that daily multivitamin intake was linked with a 27 percent lower risk of myocardial infarction among the women in a target group of 30,000 aged forty-nine to eighty-three years without a history of cardiovascular disease.