WARNING

WHAT REALLY CAUSES HEART DISEASE. . .

FACT:  More than 60% of all heart attacks occur in people with normal cholesterol levels.

FACT:  The majority of people with high cholesterol never suffer heart attacks.

FACT:  Half of all heart attack victims have NONE of the standard risk factors (i.e., smoking, obesity, genetics, or high cholesterol).

THE SCIENTIFIC FACTS. . .

FACTS ABOUT CHOLESTEROL AND STATIN DRUGS

• The 24^th American Heart Association Conference on stroke found that cholesterol levels under 180 were linked with two times greater incidence of hemorrhagic stroke (burst blood vessel in the brain) compared with those who had levels higher, around 220.
• A French study in 1996 found low cholesterol was linked to suicide. 
• The journal, Psychosomatic Medicine, discovered that low cholesterol levels in men were linked with higher depression scores. 
• Statin drugs (used for lowering cholesterol) can cause what is called transient global amnesia, erectile dysfunction, difficult in managing diabetes, and peripheral neuropathy.
• The biochemistry of cholesterol-lowering ability lies in the statins blocking the very production of cholesterol in the liver.  In so doing, it interferes with the production and usage of Coenzyme Q10.
• Medical literature is is now pointing to the fact that over the last several years, Congestive Heart Failure is on the rise, alarmingly so.  Fact within a fact: the highest concentration of CoQ10 is in the heart.  Depletion of CoQ10 by the statin drug can be fatal and appears to have been fatal on thousands of individuals in the past few years.
• Merck, makers of a widely used statin drug, has a patent on combining the Statin Drug with CoQ10 to offset the loss by the drug, but never put it on the market.  Patent number 4,933,165, in 1990 gives evidence of how long the drug industry has known the killing effects of the Statin Drugs.
• The FDA has been petitioned by watchdog groups and medical doctors to require a warning to be posted on the effects of these drugs—to no avail.
• CoQ10 is responsible for production of cellular energy or the ATP in the mitochondria.  Clinical symptoms come on gradually—lethargy, difficulty in walking up stairs, fatigue, exhaustion, no energy to play with the kids or grandkids, etc.
• Memory problems are well-associated with the statins.  The elderly must be watched very carefully to determine if cognitive difficulties are due to early Alzheimer’s, senile dementia, or combinations of drugs.
• Our research, and the research of many others, indicates that lipid screening (cholesterol) is ineffective for identifying future cardiovascular events.  Cardio CRP, a sensitive marker of systemic inflammation, has emerged as a powerful predictor of cardiovascular diseases, particularly of coronary heart disease (CHD). 

Our studies indicate that the real culprit is inflammation in the arteries, not cholesterol.  The one common denominator in heart disease is INFLAMMATION IN THE ARTERIES!

The Solution. . .

CORRECT the CAUSES of the inflammation, which is now possible without drugs!

The Causes. . .

• High levels of fibrinogen, a protein that helps form clots when injured.
• Homocysteine, a harmless (?) acid-like waste product that forms when you eat red mean and other protein foods.  Homocysteine can build up to dangerous levels and BURN the delicate tissue of artery walls.  Plaque is then formed at the site of this inflammation as the body attempts to heal the damage.  Low levels of vitamin B either through poor diet or lack of absorption.
• Poor thyroid functioning which also inhibits the absorption of B vitamins.

 MUST READING IF YOU ARE ON STATIN DRUGS. . .

New Study Implicates Statins in Heart Failure.

Anthony Colpo,
November 30, 2004.

Since the early nineties--several years after statin drugs were introduced in 1987--the incidence of congestive heart failure (CHF) has risen sharply. CHF, in fact, is the fastest growing cardiovascular disorder in the United States(1). Each year, around 400,000 new cases of CHF are diagnosed in America, and approximately half of these patients will die within five years. Sadly, there is no cure for CHF short of a heart transplant. Although the causes of this CHF epidemic are unknown, statin-induced CoQl0 deficiency has been posited as a possible contributing factor.

New study: 20mg of Lipitor daily produced diastolic cardiac abnormalities in patients who were otherwise free of heart disease.

In the latest issue of the American Journal of Cardiology, Peter Langsjoen, a leading authority on statin-induced CoQ10 depletion, and his colleagues present evidence that supports this contention.

Langsjoen and his team studied 14 patients free of heart disease who were about to begin atorvastatin therapy. All of the patients met the National Cholesterol Education Program's recommendations for initiating pharmacologic therapy. The decision to initiate therapy was made by the patients' primary physician. Potential subjects were excluded if they were younger than 50 years old, had a history of heart failure or previous myocardial infarctions, had unstable angina pectoris, or other evidence of impaired cardiac function.

Plasma CoQ10 and echocardiograms were performed at baseline, and at the conclusion of the study. After the baseline echocardiogram, patients were started on 20 mg of atorvastatin (Lipitor) per day for 3 to 6 months.

The results

Ten of the 14 patients (71%) developed abnormalities in the heart's diastolic phase (when the heart muscle fills with blood). Diastolic dysfunction is a major cause of congestive heart failure in older people.

Of the 10 patients who had worsening of LV diastolic function, 9 were supplemented with 300 mg/day of Coenzyme Q10 (100 mg orally 3 times daily) for an additional 3 months while continuing to take atorvastatin.

Eight of these 9 patients (89%) had reversal of one or markers of diastolic abnormality, four patients (44%) had reversal of all three of the diastolic parameters employed, while one patient had no change in the parameters

Interestingly, these improvements were seen even though CoQ10 levels decreased in 5 patients, remained the same in 4 patients, and increased in 5 patients during atorvastatin therapy.

Of the 9 patients who were supplemented with CoQ10, seven had significant increases in their blood levels of CoQ10, and one had no change (the remaining patient did not have follow-up CoQ10 blood levels drawn).

In light of these results, the researchers stated that, "Because baseline levels of CoQ10 do not predict dysfunction, routine concomitant CoQ10 administration, especially in patients at risk, seems prudent."(2).

Statins: the next Vioxx?

Yesterday (November 29, 2004) Langsjoen and Julian M. Whitaker, M.D, issued a press release titled "STATIN DRUG CRISIS LOOMS LARGER THAN "VIOXX®"

The release explains how Whitaker petitioned FDA on May 24, 2002 to change the warning labels on statin drugs to alert consumers to the fact that they deplete CoQ10 levels in the blood, placing millions at risk of myopathies, including cardiomyopathy (heart failure).

The FDA did nothing in response.

Whitaker has now filed a second petition with FDA, notifying the agency of "Health Canada's insistence on use of the warning and demanding that FDA do the same without delay."

Langsjoen and Whittaker believe that the FDA's inaction and the recently revised National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) guidelines, which markedly increase the number of people eligible for statin therapy, have dramatically increased the risk of myopathies, "threatening a national health crisis."

To read the press release, click here.

References

1. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health Data Fact Sheet. Congestive Heart Failure in the United States: A New Epidemic. Available online: http://www.medhelp.org/NIHlib/GF-241.html

2. Silver MA, et al. Effect of Atorvastatin on Left Ventricular Diastolic Function and Ability of Coenzyme Q10 to Reverse That Dysfunction. American Journal of Cardiology, 2004; 94: 1306-1310.

Anthony Colpo is an independent researcher and certified fitness consultant with 20 years' experience in the physical conditioning arena. To contact: contact@theomnivore.com

This article is presented for information purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Persons with medical conditions should institute dietary changes whilst being monitored by a competent medical practitioner.

The Lipitor Dilemna

AND MORE. . .