Why Your Cholesterol Level May Not Accurately Indicate Your Risk For Heart Attack

Why your cholesterol level may not accurately indicate your risk for heart attack.

There is a big revolution going on in the field of cardiac prevention right now and unfortunately this news hasn't reached main stream doctors and health professionals.  Even despite this new science that is saving lives with prevention and non-invasive tests that can detect heart disease risk well before symptoms occur, much of cardiac practice is still mired in old, out-dated approaches. 

First, let's understand your risk factors for heart attack:

1. Past heart attack.  If you have had a previous heart attack, your chances of dying in the next 5 years are greater, IF you don't adopt preventive measures.
2. Your age.  Men experience cardiac issues almost 10 full years before women, but by menopause, women catch up with almost equal risk.
3. Smoking. Smoking narrows your arteries, raises your blood pressure and increases arterial inflammation.
4. Diabetes, Prediabetes and Metabolic Syndrome. These conditions interfere with the bodies ability to process fats leading to low HDL levels, higher triglycerides, dense LDL particles, higher arterial inflammation.
5. High blood pressure. High blood pressure stiffens and narrows blood vessels, making the heart work harder and eventually making the heart muscle thicker.
6. Waist Circumference.  Belly fat is a strong indicator of who will develop diabetes and heart disease.  this type of fat is very dangerous to the organs too.
7. Calcium Score. The higher the calcium in your arteries, the higher your risk of a heart attack.
8. HDL and LDL Cholesterol  HDL levels over 90 is the LONGEVITY number.  Those with HDL over 90 have a low risk of cardiac disease. The smaller and denser your partical number for LDL, the greater your risk of heart disease.
9. Family History.  Not necessarily genetic.  This is more about lifestyle.  If your father or mother had bad habits, you may have adopted them, thus perpetuating the risk.
10. Triglycerides.  Triglycerides is the amount of fat in your cells.  A high number is a higher risk of cardiac issues.  Triglycerides are definitely lifestyle sensitive.
11. Blood glucose levels. High numbers above 100 raise your risk.  Sugar in the blood is dangerous.
12. Elevated Homocysteine. High numbers promote blockage of blood vessels.
13. High CRP (c-reactive protein or inflammation marker). High amount of inflammation in your arteries is thought to precipitate soft plague rupture in your arteries which is the reason for heart attacks.
14. Sedentary lifestyle. 
15. Diet high in transfat and sugar. Man made fats that scar the lining of your arteries contributing to plaque formation in the arteries.

 Having several or all of these risk factors will raise and indicate your risk for heart attack exponentially.  Having one of these risk factors alone does not necessarily raise your risk of heart heart attack to a dangerous level.

What can you do if you have some or all of these risk factors?  Don't worry, you can reverse heart disease!  But you have to start now and work at it.  Getting the appropriate tests to determine your levels of the above risk factors is the first start.

TO DO:
Get tested for:  Click on the links below to find out more information on the meaning of the numbers.

Blood pressure.
Body Fat percentage
Calcium score
HDL and LDL  the smaller, denser particle size is more of a risk of heart attack than larger particle size.  Get this tested if your numbers are high. Too many people are on statin drugs with just a high cholesterol number and no other risk factors listed above.
Triglycerides
Blood glucose
Homocysteine
CRP

Talk to your doctor about other lifestyle changes to lower your cholesterol if all of your other risk factor numbers are in the normal range.  Avoiding lifetime medication should always be the goal.  For more information, read the Heart Health Revolution

For supplements that assist with heart health click here: Heart Health

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