Cholesterol Levels Not Always Indicative of Cardiac Health, Study Shows. Cholesterol levels may reflect a persons diet, but these levels say little about a persons cardiac health according to Dr. Fred Kummerow at the University of Illinois and the Carle Foundation Hospital study. They conclude that plasma cholesterol levels should not be relied on as a measure for potential heart disease. You can not depend on your HDL-LDL ratio. In one of their studies that consisted of 1,200 catheterized patients only 14 % of the men had plasma cholesterol levels above 240 and 50 % had levels BELOW 200. Thirty two percent of the women who had bypass surgery had levels above 240 and thirty four percent were below 200. Journal of Atherosclerosis, March 2000 .. Warning on Heart Disease Wonder Drugs Drugs to lower cholesterol are over-prescribed, with people wasting millions of dollars, health experts have warned. Australia spent more than $500 million on the drugs last year, with taxpayers subsidizing most of the cost through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the schemes figures reveal. These wonder drugs, credited with revolutionizing the treatment of heart disease, are also being prescribed t thousands of people who may derive limited benefits or are failing to make key lifestyle changes to help themselves. Professor Don Birkett of Flinders University, Former head of Australias Pharmaceutical Scheme . The Effectiveness of Cholesterol Lowering Drugs February 28, 2000Fewer than 40 % of patients on lipid lowering therapy achieve the LDL-cholesterol targets established by the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) according to a report in the February 28, 2000 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study included 4,888 patients of 902 physicians to see if these patients were achieving their goals set by the NCEP. The results revealed that the cholesterol lowing drug therapy was more successful than non-drug therapy but the difference was far less than ideal. 39 percent of the patients on drug therapy achieved their goal compared to 34 percent that used non-drug therapy. Archives of Internal Medicine; 160:459-467 Benefits of Soy Supplementation A study presented at the American Heart Associations 41st Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention on May 5, 2001 reported that those who add soy to their diets may see an increase in levels of good cholesterol in their blood whether their current levels of cholesterol were high or normal. Adding 40 grams of soy protein to your daily diet increased the level of the good HDL cholesterol. This study was done at Tulane University School. . Reducing the Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke According to a study published August 17, 2000, the federal Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), shows that persons taking multivitamins can benefit from combining them with antioxidant vitamins such a Vitamin E to help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. This study researched into the death of more than one million adults. Multivitamin Use and Mortality in a Large Prospective Study; American Journal of Epidemiology . Exercise and Blood Vessels The blood vessels of older athletes behave like those of people half their age, according to a recent study. Researchers studied the blood vessels of sedentary individuals and athletes, both young and old. The study found that the older athletes blood vessels functioned as well as those of the participants in either of the two younger groups. This study demonstrates that regular physical activity can protect aging blood vessels says Dr. Stefano Taddei, M.D. professor of medicine at the University of Pisa , Italy. Long-term exercise protects the inner lining of the blood vessels from age-related changes and makes them behave more like those of a young person. Blood vessels need to be able to expand in order to accommodate increases in blood flow. A protective layer of cells, called the endothelium, forms the inner lining of blood vessels and produces substances that help the vessel expand, or dilate. In healthy blood vessels, the endothelium produces a substance called nitric oxide that helps the vessels dilate when the heart needs more blood. Nitric oxide also protects the vessel walls from developing atherosclerosis and prevents the formation of clots. Another age-related change in the endothelium is increased by free radicals in the blood. Free radicals are highly unstable, reactive oxygen molecules that circulate in the blood and damage tissues. These reactive molecules play a major role in the formation of artery-blocking fatty build-up when they come in contact with LDL cholesterolthe bad cholesterol. Scientists believe that exercise and certain vitamins have anti-oxidant effects by blocking free radicals. |
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