Betting on Heart Disease
Heart Disease Risk
Heart disease is the leading cause of death and the quality of life---more than cancer and even more than COVID in a pandemic. Everyone has some risk of heart disease, but certain traits increase risk.
Risk Calculation
Heart risk formulas are calculated by putting the measurements from a large group of people into a computer, along with whether they have heart disease (HD). The computer calculates to determine which factors link with heart disease (HD). It spits out an equation that you can use to predict your risk of heart disease.
Ham in a Frame Study
The original heart disease (HD) study started in the city of Framingham, MA, in 1948 with 5,000 people. The Framingham study has now followed 14,000 people over 3 generations. This study introduced the idea of risk factors for heart disease (HD).
4 Kinds of Heart Disease
HD can be divided into 4 areas:
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Heart failure/heart attack
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Stroke
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Artery narrowing in legs, and so on.
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Aneurysm (bulging vessels)
Heart Disease Risk
So, when an HD risk calculator says you have a 15% risk of HD in 10 years, that means in a group of 100 people with those measurements, about 15 would get HD within 10 years. Which 15 people will get HD is impossible to predict. If we make it to 40, men have a 50/50 chance of having HD at some point.
Time Frame
Because the lifetime risk of HD is so high, the risk of HD is often stated as the risk in the next 10 years. For example, if your 10-year risk is 15%, that means you have about a 1 in 7 chance of getting HD in the next 10 years. In general, a risk over 10% in 10 years is a medium risk level. Over 20% is a high risk.
Risk Factors
Age
The older we are, the higher our risk of HD. An average 50-year-old has a 5% risk of getting HD in the next 10 years. This goes up to 15% for a 75-year-old.
Sex
HD risk also varies from men to women. During a woman’s childbearing years, the hormone estrogen largely protects women against HD. After menopause, the risk triples.
Family History
If you have an immediate relative who had HD at a young age, your risk is increased. If your father or brother had HD before 55, or your mother or sister before 65, your risk almost doubles.
Overweight
More weight equals more stress on the heart. Carrying extra weight also tends to increase the other risk factors like blood pressure and cholesterol. Also, carrying fat around the middle is risky. For men, having a waist over 40″ is an additional risk factor. For women, it’s 35″. The waist is measured around your belly button, not where pants sit on men. Most of us can stand to lose a pound or two. Don’t try rapid weight loss, slowly try to shed a few pounds.
High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is the most important risk factor for women. Having blood pressure under 140/90 cuts the risk of HD in half compared to 160/100 or higher, whether it is reduced with drugs or naturally.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a group of fatty substances that circulate in the blood and are used by the body to make repairs. There is bad cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and the good kind, high-density lipoprotein (HDL). There is also very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). Good cholesterol (HDL) reduces risk, while LDL increases risk. To manage this risk, lower LDL and increase HDL, mainly with diet and exercise. Losing weight usually lowers bad cholesterol as well, but if the LDL is still really high, medication may be in order.
TRI-fats
There are also triglycerides (TRI-fats). A higher level of TRI-fats will increase your risk of HD. Even though TRI-fats are circulating fats, the best way to lower this is to limit sugar and simple carbs like white carbs. Eating a lot of refined carbs like white bread, sugar, or white rice increases your TRI-fat level and your HD risk. In addition to limiting simple carbs, an Omega 3 capsule might lower TRI-fats. See the article on blood pressure in this issue for dose details.
CRP
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a marker for inflammation. A high CRP level in the blood doesn’t necessarily mean there are heart issues. Other causes of inflammation---for example, an infection---can raise it. But when other factors are eliminated, having a high CRP level increases the risk of HD. This hidden inflammation causes damage to blood vessels.
Diabetes
Diabetes also doubles the risk of HD. This may be due to the damage that high blood sugar can do to the body’s tissues.
Smoking
Smoking increases the risk of HD. It is especially dangerous combined with other risk factors. And what’s worse, smoking tends to make bad cholesterol higher, good cholesterol lower, and increases blood pressure.
Previous Heart Disease
If you’ve had a heart attack, stroke, or another form of HD, your risk of having a future HD is higher.
Simple Risk Calculator
To calculate your risk, gather your cholesterol test results and your blood pressure and go to this weblink: Panaceamag.com/heartrisk https://ccs.ca/calculators-and-forms/
Improve Your Odds
The risk calculator doesn’t say who will get HD and who won’t. It only tells you your chances. There is no way to know if you will get heart disease. Luck plays a role, but you can improve your odds.
Choose Life
If your risk of HD is high, make some lifestyle changes to help yourself. Attack the biggest risk first. The biggest risk factor is often cholesterol and high blood pressure. Address this first with diet, exercise, relaxation, and other techniques. If the HD risk over 10 years is still over 15%, medication might be worth the side effects.
Statins
The major group of medications to reduce HD risk is statins that reduce cholesterol levels. If you have already had a heart attack, stroke, or artery disease, statins may make sense. They reduce the risk of future HD. If your risk of HD in the next 10 years is under 10%, statins don’t do much for you. On the other hand, if your risk is over 20%, they can make a difference. Statins seem to help people with a family history of HD the most. Over age 75, the use of statins is a more complicated calculation.
Exercise
A powerful way to reduce your risk of HD is exercise. There is a good reason that a certain type of exercise is often called cardio. It is good for the heart. Cardio exercise involves raising the heart rate enough, so the heart is working, but at a level you can do for a long time. For an average person of 65, the target heart rate is around 100 beats per minute. Brisk walking can get you to this cardio training level with very little risk of injury.
A Little Does a Lot
If you are doing very little exercise now, you’ll get a massive benefit from adding some activity to your life. The gains from adding an hour a day of exercise are huge. You will still gain from adding more than an hour a day of exercise, but the gains are slower.
Short, Intense Exercise
Vigorous exercise once a week also has big benefits. Even 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity in a week has a big impact on reducing your risk of HD. If you are strong and healthy enough for vigorous activity, do it. Nothing gives you better health payoff for invested time. A simple and intense 7-minute workout 3 times per week pays off big. Look up 7-minute workouts on YouTube. If you are healthy enough, try it for a month and see if you feel better.
Eat Well
Eat what all research says are good foods: fruits and vegetables, nuts, fish, and healthy fats like olive oil and high-fibre carbs. These foods have an anti-inflammatory effect. Hidden micro-inflammation (swelling) is one of the underlying causes of HD. Also, nearly universal advice is to limit sugar and refined grains like white flour and white rice and to limit factory foods. In general, fresh, whole foods, and don’t overeat---take it slow. Limiting food to only 8 hours a day or less can help —no after supper snacks. TV, food, and the couch is an explosive combination---for your waistline.
Healthy Feels Better
The most important thing you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease is to make healthy choices. When it comes to taking drugs, there may be no other good choice, once the risk is high. But healthy living helps a lot more than drugs, but you have to start now. Eating right and exercising goes a long way to reducing risk. Not only that, but you will also feel better.
