CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
by
Dr. Lawrence Wilson
©
January 2019, L.D. Wilson Consultants,
Inc.
All information in this article is for
educational purposes only. It is not
for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health
condition.
Table Of Contents
The
Medical Approach
II. SYMPTOMS OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
III. CAUSES OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
V. HAIR ANALYSIS INDICATORS OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Update,
April 2019. A good book on
this subject is: Stroke of Luck:
Master Neuroplasticity for Recovery and Growth After Stroke," and its much-shortened version, "Stroke of Luck:
NOW! Fast and Free Exercises to Immediately Begin Mastering Neuroplasticity
Following a Stroke, by Bob Dennis, PhD.
Cardiovascular
disease is a large and important area of human health and disease. It is also the leading cause of death
in America and in many nations around the world.
The medical
approach. The conventional
medical approach to cardiovascular disease is usually symptomatic, not
preventive, very costly, often disabling, and very inadequate.
Many health authorities believe it is among the
worst areas of conventional medical care.
The focus is on drug therapy and surgery, neither of which address the
causes of cardiovascular disease.
WARNING:
Do Not Stop Medication for high blood pressure of other cardiovascular
diseases. Stopping medication for high blood
pressure is very dangerous, and should never be done until the blood pressure
decreases as oneŐs health improves.
The same may be true for other cardiovascular
drugs. Do not stop medication just
because you begin a natural healing program.
WARNING:
Bypass operations. Some medical studies that show that
bypass surgery does not extend life.
However, if one has a heart attack or other cardiovascular event, often
intense pressure is put on a person to immediately have bypass surgery.
This surgery is very costly, and often leaves a
person somewhat disabled because the many hours of anesthesia damage the
brain. Often one is put on drugs
that further damage the body.
Development is another option to consider.
CARDIOVASCULAR
HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Most cardiovascular health conditions improve with
a development program. These can
include:
Angina
Arrhythmias
Arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis
Atrial fibrillation
Cardiomyopathy
Congestive heart failure
Heart attacks
Hypertension or high blood pressure
Infections
Low blood pressure
Palpitations
ReynaudŐs Syndrome
Strokes
Tachycardia or bradicardia
Varicose veins and spider veins
Prevention. A
development program is also excellent for prevention. This is discussed at the end of this article.
II. SYMPTOMS OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Here
are some of the more common symptoms:
Angina is pain in the region of the heart upon exercise
or exertion. It is due to
arteriosclerosis in most cases, which means the arteries to the heart are
somewhat clogged and when one exercises, not enough blood flows to the
heart. This symptoms is often
confused with chest wall pain, also called costochondritis.
Claudication
or trouble walking. This is due to impaired circulation to the legs and
feet. Poor circulation to the legs
can also cause leg ulcers, swelling or edema of the legs, and discoloration of
the ankles.
Cold
hands or feet. This has several causes, but one of them is
impaired circulation due to heart or vascular problems.
Edema or
swelling. This often occurs in the legs, although it can
occur elsewhere in the body due to impaired blood circulation.
Fatigue,
especially upon exertion. This can occur if the heart cannot pump enough
blood around the body.
Rapid
pulse (or tachycardia), a very slow pulse (or bradycardia), palpitations,
skipped beats or heart arrhythmias. For details on these symptoms during a
development program, read Palpitations and Rapid
Heart Rate on this website.
High blood
pressure often causes few symptoms, so it is best to check your blood
pressure every few years. Some
drug stores and supermarkets have blood pressure machines you can use to do
this, so a doctor visit is not required.
Symptoms of high blood pressure may include
headaches, redness of the face, nosebleeds, and sometimes broken capillaries
anywhere on the body.
Sudden
numbness or paralysis of a part of the body. This may be due to a
stroke, which is either due to bleeding or a blood clot in an artery in the
brain that destroys a pat of the brain.
A very mild stroke is called a transient ischemic
attack or TIA. It is often due to
a slight blockage of an artery leading to or in the brain.
Pain
along an artery or vein. This can be due to inflammation or an
infection along the artery or vein.
Doctors call this arteritis or vasculitis. It can also cause redness and heat along the course of an
artery or vein.
PART
III. CAUSES OF CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONS
The
causes of most cardiovascular conditions is the same as the causes for most
illness. These are nutrient
deficiencies, toxic substances in the body, and/or a body chemistry out of
balance. Emotions and thoughts can
also play a role.
Infections
are also sometimes an important cause, and these, also, are often due to nutrient
deficiencies, toxic metals, toxic chemicals, and imbalanced body
chemistry. Let us discuss these
basic causes in more detail.
NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES
There are at
least four reasons why nutrition is a critical factor in cardiovascular (and
other types of) disease.
1. The food
supply today throughout the earth is low in vital nutrients. It simply does not provide enough
nutrition to maintain optimum health.
This is mainly due to modern agricultural practices such as the use of
superphosphate fertilizers.
These are
growth stimulants. They increase
crop yields, but result in less nutritious food. This problem applies even to fresh, organically grown food.
This
problem is well-documented in books such as Empty Harvest by Bernard Jensen and Mark
Anderson. Another excellent book
is Food For Naught:
The Decline In Nutrition by Ross Hume Hall.
Correcting
this important problem should be a focus of modern society, but it is hardly
mentioned.
2. Standard diets are often terrible,
and do not provide enough nutrition to prevent disease. Common problems with modern diets
include consuming sugars, refined foods, few cooked vegetables, and at times,
too much or not enough meat.
The
cardiovascular system requires dozens of nutrients such as zinc, copper, omega-3 fatty acids, coenzyme Q-10,
L-carnitine, adequate protein, and others. Doctors should advise people about this matter, but this is
rare.
3. Once ill with any condition, doctors
routinely prescribe medical drugs that worsen nutritional deficiencies. This further contributes to
cardiovascular and other diseases.
This is another major failure of the current medical profession. For more details, see the article on
this site entitled Drug Problems.
4. Cardiovascular surgery always
further depletes many nutrients.
This worsens the patientŐs health, even if surgery is successful.
Doctors
should take this into account when they perform surgery, but very few do
this. Cardiovascular surgery is
sometimes life-saving, but often not needed if one follows a development
program.
Some day, I
hope this disastrous nutritional situation will change, but medical training
does not include nearly enough nutrition, so it is not likely to happen any
time soon.
TOXIC MINERALS
Toxic
levels of certain minerals cause or aggravate cardiovascular disease. Toxic minerals are of two types. Some are the toxic metals such as lead,
cadmium, and mercury. Other are
toxic forms of physiological minerals such as oxides of iron, copper and
calcium.
These can
act as irritants and oxidants, in some cases. Toxic metals replace vital minerals in some critical
enzymes. They can also clog the
arteries, harden the arteries and cause other types of damage. Here are a few of the most important
ones.
Toxic metals:
Cadmium replaces
zinc in the arterial walls when one becomes deficient in zinc. Everyone is low in zinc today, in my
experience.
Zinc is low
in foods today due to zinc-deficient soils, modern agricultural methods such as
the Ňgreen revolutionÓ, and food refining. All types of stress also increase the bodyŐs requirement for
zinc.
Cadmium in
the arteries causes increased brittleness and hardening of the arteries. Cadmium in the kidneys causes
congestion that can raise blood pressure, placing extra stress on the entire
cardiovascular system. High
cadmium is also associated with inflammation and cancer.
Lead. Lead replaces calcium in the body, in the bones and in many
other tissues. It also hardens the
tissues, interferes with nerve impulse transmission, and is associated with
cardiovascular disease. Most
people have too much lead in the body.
Mercury can affect
the heartŐs pacemaker, leading to arrhythmias and other disorders. Mercury can also build up in the kidneys,
contributing to high blood pressure.
Nickel and aluminum. These toxic metals can also build up in
the kidneys and contribute to high blood pressure.
Toxic forms of nutrient minerals:
Copper
imbalance. Both high copper
and copper deficiency are associated with cardiovascular disease. Copper is required for the integrity of
connective
tissue. Arteries, veins,
and parts of the heart itself are made of connective tissue.
Slow oxidizers often develop heart disease because
they tend to have too much of a biounavailable form of copper in the body.
Fast oxidizers tend to be copper deficient. Dr. Leslie Klevay and other researchers
proved that copper deficiency is associated with an increased risk of arteriosclerosis. It can also contribute to heart valve
problems, and fatal heart attacks.
Toxic calcium. A toxic form of calcium often builds up
in the arteries and kidneys as people age. The cause is a slow oxidation rate with low tissue sodium
and potassium.
The latter
are solvent minerals needed to keep calcium in solution in the blood. Without enough of them, calcium begins
to precipitate out of solution and will build up in the soft tissues of the
body. This forms plaques that that
narrow the arteries and harden them.
Calcium in the kidneys contributes to high blood pressure and other
kidney problems.
OXIDATION TYPES AND HEART ATTACKS
We
distinguish two metabolic types, fast and slow oxidation. Other types are mainly a combination of
these in some degree.
Interestingly, two primary types of heart attacks (or myocardial
infarctions) occur. Let us
correlate how these relate to the metabolic rate and metabolic type, as
discovered using hair tissue mineral analysis research.
Coronary
Thrombosis. This is the most
common type of heart attack. It
occurs when a small piece of arterial plaque or other foreign material
completely clogs a coronary artery leading to the heart muscle. The area served by this artery is then
deprived of blood, and therefore of oxygen and nutrients, and the muscle dies,
or is damaged to some degree.
This
type of heart attack correlates best with slow oxidizers. These individuals tend to develop clogged arteries with a
buildup of calcium, toxic metals or fatty plaques in the arteries. They also tend to have more sluggish
circulation, which can also lead to plaque buildup.
Hair
tissue mineral analyses on these individuals tend to show high levels of
calcium and magnesium, and lower levels of sodium and potassium. Toxic metals may or may not be revealed
on early tests because the energy level is low and the toxic metals may be
hidden deep within body tissues, including the artery walls.
These
individuals may also develop high blood pressure and other cardiovascular
diseases for the same reasons explained in the paragraph above.
These
heart attacks are often non-fatal because only one or a few coronary arteries
are involved. With adequate bed
rest, magnesium infusions, vitamin E and other standard supportive care, the
body can often develop what is called collateral circulation to go around the
clogged coronary artery. New blood
vessels grow and surrounding blood circulation may also become enhanced to
nourish the heart muscle.
Sympathetic
Nervous System Heart Attack.
The arteries have muscles in their walls. In this type of heart attack, the arterial muscles contract
or spasm to such a degree that they inhibit the flow of blood to the
heart. A vicious cycle occurs, in
which the shock of the coronary artery spasm causes an alarm reaction in the
body that further stresses the body, causing even more spasm of the coronary
artery.
If this
cycle is not broken, death can easily result. This
type of heart attack is often fatal
because it can affect most or all of the coronary arteries at the same
time. Thus there is less chance
for the heart to continue receiving enough oxygen and nourishment to continue
beating.
This
type of heart attack occurs more often in the metabolic type called the fast
oxidizer, especially if the oxidation rate is extremely fast. In these individuals, the hair tissue
levels of calcium and magnesium tend to be quite low, usually less than 30 mg%
or 300 ppm of calcium and usually less than 3 mg% or 30 ppm of magnesium. The hair sodium and potassium levels
are often quite elevated due to stress.
These
individuals may or may not have somewhat clogged arteries secondarily that
contribute to their cardiovascular problems. Also, these individuals may be quite young and may appear to
have very healthy coronary arteries.
Blood
pressure may be normal or even low at times. Labile hypertension is more common among them, as the
pressure can rise and fall as the arterial muscles contract and relax. These are people for whom a shock can
cause a sudden, massive and fatal heart attack with no warning. Emotions such as anger, resentment and
other strong feelings may play a large role in the causation of this type of
heart attack.
EFFECTS OF EMOTIONS AND LIFESTYLE
Anger. Studies indicate that anger turned inward
is associated with increased blood pressure and greater risk of heart
attacks. Frustration, hostility
and resentment in particular create this pattern. Not all 'type A' personalities have more heart attacks. However, the angry and frustrated 'type
A' personalities have a much greater risk of heart attacks.
Rest, exercise
and good eating habits. These
are important to prevent all illness, including cardiovascular conditions. Some exercise is also helpful although
with a development program, vigorous exercise is not needed or helpful.
SALT-EATING AS A CAUSE OF HEART DISEASE
Doctors
say that people with high blood pressure should not eat salt. They are correct that one should stop
all common table
salt. It is a horrible,
mineral-depleted product.
However,
unrefined sea
salt can often be eaten in moderation and helps get rid of mineral
deficiencies. Used in moderation, in almost all
cases it will not raise blood pressure.
It also
provides many essential trace minerals that most everyone needs. Doing without it just makes most people
even more mineral-deficient. For
more details, read Salt on this site.
STIMULANTS AND THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
Many
people use stimulants ranging from caffeinated drinks to sugary foods and
beverages, kombucha tea, soda pop, more than one cup of coffee or tea daily,
and others. All of these
stimulants stress the cardiovascular system.
IMBALANCES IN THE FOURTH ENERGY CENTER
The heart is
located very near to the fourth physical energy center of the human body. This center has to do with human
relationships, give and take, and letting go of the ego, to a degree.
When this
energy center is not open or not working correctly, it can cause stress to the
heart and the large blood vessels entering and leaving the heart.
This can
contribute to heart and cardiovascular conditions. For more details, read The Energy
Centers on this site.
OBESITY AND HEART DISEASE
Each
pound of extra weight on the body adds as much as a half mile of capillaries
through which the heart must pump blood.
Losing weight if one is overweight is therefore important to reduce
strain on the heart. It will often
help reduce blood pressure, as well.
A
development program will always cause significant weight loss if the diet is
done correctly. Vigorous exercise
is not needed, nor are any drugs, hormones or other medical interventions.
IV. CORRECTION AND
PREVENTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONS
PRINCIPLES
Things
to keep in mind are:
1. The cardiovascular system is
profoundly affected by the sympathetic nervous system. Stimulation of the sympathetic branch
of the autonomic nervous system causes what is called the fight-or-flight
response. Sympathetic stimulation:
A. Increases the pulse, or beats
per minute.
B. Causes the heart to beat
harder.
C. Causes some constriction of
the arteries, which raises the blood pressure.
D. Draws blood away from the
digestive and eliminative organs, while increasing circulation to the brain and
the muscles to prepare the body to fight or run away.
E. Tends to move more blood
toward the center of the body and away from the extremities. This is also done to help the body
survive a fight. When it happens
chronically, however, it causes impaired circulation to the hands and feet,
which can result in ReynaudŐs disease.
For the
reasons above, any imbalance, toxicity or nutritional deficiencies that involve
the autonomic nervous system may affect the heart and the entire cardiovascular
system.
2. The heart is a muscular structure
that must have an excellent blood supply to keep pumping correctly.
3. The heart valves, the arteries, the
veins and the capillaries are largely made of connective tissue. Thus, any imbalances or
nutritional problems involving connective tissue will often affect the heart
and the vascular system of the body.
The most common of these are elevated copper, low copper, cadmium
toxicity, and low zinc.
4. Inflammation is often a problem in
the cardiovascular system.
Inflammation roughens the walls of the arteries and impairs blood
flow. It can also cause a piece of
plaque to break off, which can cause a heart attack, pulmonary embolism, or a
stroke.
Inflammation
also often affects the veins, the heart valves and every part of the
cardiovascular system. Eating
sugar or fruit in any form often increases inflammation.
Inflammation
can be the result of the presence of toxic metals, oxidant damage, and
deficiencies of nutrients that are vital for the heart and cardiovascular
system. These include:
1. Omega-3
fatty acids,
2. Vitamin D
3. Coenzyme
Q-10 (found in lamb in the highest quantity)
4. Carnitine
found in sardines and other meats.
5. Cardiovascular symptoms are often
easy to help with a complete development program. This was somewhat surprising to me, at
first. However, it has proven true
many times. Even serious
cardiovascular conditions such as angina, congestive heart failure, aneurysms, heart valve
problems, and cardiomyopathy respond well to a complete development program, even
when drugs and surgery do not work well.
This may
occur because development addresses stress at deeper levels than any other type
of medical or holistic therapies that I know of. These conditions can usually be stopped from progressing,
and often reversed if a person follows the program for several years.
Other
conditions that respond very well are many cases of high blood pressure, clogged arteries or
arteriosclerosis, atrial fibrillation, and other heart arrhythmias. To learn more about
this program, please read Introduction To
Development and many other articles about this program on this website.
HEALING FACTORS:
DIET AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Low-fat diets. Dr. Dean Ornish demonstrated reversal
of plaque formation with a combination of a low-fat diet, meditation and
exercise. Those who do well on
this regimen are generally slow oxidizers, who do not fare well on a high-fat diet.
Low
carbohydrate diets. However,
Robert Atkins, M.D., a New York cardiologist, as well as many researchers
since, found that a low carbohydrate diet with some fat with each meal is very
helpful for certain cases of heart disease. These are most likely fast oxidizers. In these individuals, high-quality fats and oils with each
meal balance body chemistry and lead to improved health.
Omega-3 oils. Most people today overeat on omega-6
fatty acids due to the way animals are fed, and the widespread use of vegetable
oils in cooking, frying, and in making hundreds of prepared food products. These oils, in excess, are
pro-inflammatory and can definitely worsen many heart conditions.
In contrast,
the omega-3 oils – usually from fish oil or sardines – are
important anti-inflammatory nutrients that everyone needs today to balance the
high intake of omega-6 oils that is very difficult to avoid in modern society.
Do not eat
other fish, such as salmon or tuna, which are too high in mercury. Some say not to worry about this if you
take selenium, but we donŐt find that to be true based on hair mineral
testing. Only sardines are low
enough in mercury to be eaten regularly.
LIFESTYLE
Exercise
has been shown to be important.
However, do not overdo on exercise. Many doctors recommend vigorous exercise. We find, however, that with a
development program, gentle exercise such as walking is plenty. I know this sounds unusual, but it is
our experience.
Adequate rest and sleep are very
important. Most people need 9 or more
hours of sleep every night.
Sunshine in moderation is helpful
for the circulatory system.
Stress reduction is often
very helpful.
Quit drugs and smoking. This includes no marijuana.
Eating habits. Always have relaxed, sit down meals, do
not drink liquids with meals, chew thoroughly and do not eat when upset or
anxious.
Thoughts. Let go of grudges, resentments and
anger. Learn to forgive and be
grateful with everyone, at all times.
WATER INTAKE AND HEART DISEASE
Proper
hydration of the body can help with circulation, and even high blood pressure,
in some cases.
Research has
shown clearly that drinking softened water is not as healthful for the heart. Hard water, which is much higher in
calcium and magnesium, is better.
Also, do not
drink reverse
osmosis water or distilled water. It is
mineral-deficient and yin in macrobiotic terminology. It can worsen health problems for this reason. For more on water, read Water For Drinking.
How much water
should one drink? Adults need 2 to 3 quarts or liters of water daily.
The dehydration diet. Beware that drinking any caffeine, sugar or alcohol
depletes water from the body, making hydration much worse. This can also cause heart and other
cardiovascular problems.
No substitutes for water. Few other beverages hydrate the body as
well as simple spring water or carbon-only filtered tap water. Please drink water, not a lot of juice,
coffee, soda pop, or other drinks with caffeine, sweeteners or alcohol.
VITAMINS AND MINERALS ONE MUST OFTEN AVOID
WITH HEART DISEASE
This short
section is critical! Many
serious cases of congestive heart failure, valve problems and pending heart
attack are due to a particular mineral imbalance called fast oxidation with a low sodium/potassium
ratio.
In this case, taking zinc,
potassium, B-complex vitamins, and/or vitamin C and E can make the problem much
worse!
In the book,
Development And
Hair Mineral Analysis, (2010, 2014 and 2016 editions) is a case of a
friendŐs mother who was being treated for a heart valve defect by regular and
holistic cardiologists.
Unfortunately,
her treatment made her far worse because her holistic doctor gave her zinc,
B-complex, vitamin C, vitamin E, and potassium. All of these threw her body chemistry further out of balance
because she was a fast oxidizer and because giving these supplementary
nutrients lower copper in the body.
Copper is
essential for connective tissue, and some people need a lot more of it, while
others have too much. This common
nutritional and medical error further damaged her heart valves and definitely
made her heart condition much worse.
A
development program turned her condition around only days before heart valve
replacement surgery was scheduled.
She never needed the replacement heart valve. Please read this case
before taking much of these supplements for heart problems.
SAUNA THERAPY AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
Sauna
therapy may seem dangerous if one has a heart condition. However, if done correctly, it is safe
and helpful. The rules are:
1. I only
recommend using a red heat lamp sauna, and not other types of saunas.
2. One must
be on a complete development program.
The sauna alone could be unsafe, often because it causes rapid
detoxification and other changes in the body.
3. Be
supervised in your sauna program if heart disease is present.
Sauna effects. When done properly, the red heat lamp
sauna improves circulation, and relaxes the sympathetic nervous system.
It also dilates
the peripheral blood vessels, which helps lower an elevated blood
pressure. It also promotes the
removal of all the toxic metals and hundreds of toxic chemicals that often
contribute to hardening of the arteries and most cardiovascular conditions.
Near
infrared energy also seems to have wonderful healing effects on the connective
tissues that make up the cardiovascular system of the body.
CHELATION THERAPY
Some
holistic doctors offer chelation therapy to remove calcium plaques from the
arteries. It can be helpful for
this purpose. However, in my
experience, a development works better, is less toxic, and has many other
benefits. For more details, please
read Chelation Therapy.
PREVENTION
Development
for prevention. With
cardiovascular disease, prevention is job number one, and can be the only way to stay
alive. Development programs are by
far the best programs I know of to prevent cardiovascular disease.
I have seen many people have heart attacks and
strokes die young while they were supposedly eating well. They were also taking many supplements
to benefit the heart and cardiovascular system. The reason for this tragedy is usually that the body is out
of balance and/or too yin. Very
few healing programs can correct this as can a development program.
V. HAIR ANALYSIS INDICATORS OF CARDIOVASCULAR
DISEASE
THE SODIUM/POTASSIUM RATIO
An
important indicator for cardiovascular disease is a hair sodium/potassium ratio
less than 2.5:1. This ratio indicates
tissue breakdown. This can result in cardiomyopathy (destruction of the heart
muscle) or irritation of the arterial walls.
The
breakdown of arterial tissue causes weakening of the arteries and an increased
tendency for hemorrhage, aneurysms and strokes. Weakening or irritation of the artery walls may cause the
body to respond by coating the arterial walls with fatty or calcium
plaques. The results are arteriosclerosis
and atherosclerosis.
A
sodium/potassium ratio less than 1:1 is considered a strong trend for a heart
attack or other serious cardiovascular disease.
An
elevated sodium/potassium ratio is strongly associated with inflammation, and
at times with high blood pressure.
TOXIC METALS
Cadmium
greater than 0.06 mg% is associated with hardening of the arteries and kidney
disease that can cause high blood pressure.
Nickel
greater than 0.02 mg% may be associated with buildup of nickel in the kidneys.
Lead
greater
than 0.06 mg% may indicate problems with lead in the body.
Mercury greater than
0.035 mg% indicates problems with mercury in the body.
FAST OXIDATION WITH A LOW SODIUM/POTASSIUM
RATIO
This can be
a serious heart condition pattern.
It requires a special program, which will take the stress off the heart.
A special
case of this pattern is called The Step-Up Pattern. It is considered a quick death pattern from a heart attack
or stroke. For more details, read Step-Up Pattern on this site.
VI. OTHER CARDIOVASCULAR ARTICLES
There
are numerous articles about cardiovascular health conditions on this
website. They are available by clicking here.
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