By Elaine Fawcett, MJ, NTP An ancient surgical procedure, called trepanation, consisted of drilling a hole in the head and removing a piece of the skull. It is thought this practice was used to release evil spirits that caused mental illness, migraine headaches, and other ills. Nowadays however, if you would go to your naturopath with complaints of headaches and she pulled out her drill, you would bolt from her office in horror. Sadly, when it comes to heart disease, it seems we haven’t advanced all that much since ancient times. When future humans look back to 2017 and the way we treat heart disease, they will shake their heads in disbelief. Much of heart care today, in both conventional and alternative medicine, ranges from harmful to hopelessly misguided. In this article I will review some common but overlooked factors associated with heart disease, as presented at a lecture by Datis Kharrazian, DHSc, DC, MS. Although cancer recently took the top spot, heart disease has long been the leading cause of death since the advent of processed foods almost 100 years ago, and to NTPs, it isn’t hard to understand why. As we know, the root of disease almost always begins in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, with problems compounding in the immune and endocrine (hormone) systems, which in turn stresses the heart. That gut health and immunity status affect the heart is lost on most conventional doctors, including many holistic ones. These days, we see two extreme viewpoints of cholesterol, both of which are incomplete. In conventional medicine, cholesterol is the defining marker for heart disease. While your local MD’s approach to treating high cholesterol has been seriously questioned and successfully challenged by reputable science, this standard of treatment — a low-fat diet and perhaps a prescription for statins — hasn’t budged. And when this model fails to prevent heart disease, as it often does, doctors simply blame the patient for not toiling long enough in the prison of low- fat diets. In holistic medicine, on the other hand, cardiovascular health is often dismissed when symptoms are lacking, and high cholesterol is brushed away as irrelevant. Although the nutritional model is safer (for statin drugs can have devastating side effects), it too falls short when it doesn’t address the risk of high cholesterol levels. As always, the answer lies in the middle of these two extremes. Conventional doctors miss the mark when they look at cholesterol levels in isolation, as do holistic doctors when they hardly consider it at all. The truth is, high cholesterol is a risk when inflammation is present. When looking at what causes heart disease and how to treat it, atherosclerosis – the formation of plaque within the arteries – is the starting point. But it’s shortsighted to simply blame atherosclerosis on high cholesterol. Rather, atherosclerosis comes from an immune response. The immune response creates inflammation, with this inflammation gradually worsening into lesions in the arterial walls. Since the body’s priority is to stay alive now, even if it means self-sabotage in the long run, it speedily delivers cholesterol to the lesions to patch them up, hence causing atherosclerosis. The key for the practitioner then is not simply to lower cholesterol, leaving the arterial walls more vulnerable to failure, but rather to ferret out what’s driving the inflammation in the first place. This is where the skill and ongoing education of the practitioner comes in. For instance, newer research shows that some people develop atherosclerosis due to an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own arterial wall tissue. Is a prescription for either Lipitor or CoQ10 going to do much for these folks? Obviously not. The sleuthing for inflammation starts by understanding that atherosclerosis starts where the gastrointestinal, hormonal, and immune systems meet (and yes, they do meet!). But for the sake of simplicity, let’s look at each individually.

THE GUT CONNECTION TO HEART DISEASE

Although many practitioners understand that poor digestion creates inflammation, a couple of problems specific to the GI tract can trigger atherosclerosis. As an example, bile secreted by the gallbladder escorts cholesterol out of the body. However, with dysbiosis — when there is more bad bacteria than good bacteria in the gut — this process falters or fails. The result is a rise in cholesterol (not to mention estrogen and various toxins). In this case, a simple gut detox and inoculation with beneficial bacteria can lower cholesterol. Also critical is the link between Helicobacter pylori infection and atherosclerosis. H. pylori, a bacterium unique in its ability to survive the highly acidic environment of the stomach, is best known for causing peptic ulcers, gastritis, and duodenitis. What’s less known, however, is that h.pylori also destroys vascular tissue; autopsies are turning up H. pylori in the lesions of stroke and heart attack victims. Our gut is exposed to many pathogens, including H. pylori, daily. A healthy stomach sufficient in hydrochloric acid (HCl) destroys pathogens as soon as they enter. It’s estimated that 90 percent of Americans are deficient in HCl, and that H. pylori can be found in 50% percent of the world’s population, so it’s easy to see that this may be the most common infectious disease worldwide. Not to mention that most, if not all, chronic users of antacids harbor excess H. pylori. So why hasn’t medicine launched a full-scale attack? Because an H. pylori infection is asymptomatic, quietly wreaking havoc before more telltale signs such as gastric ulcers enter the picture. And since most practitioners, both conventional and natural, practice based on symptoms, it can easily go unnoticed until it’s too late. Because this bacteria is so contagious (by saliva), Dr. Kharrazian has found that treating an individual for H. pylori does not have lasting success unless the entire family is treated. He once had a patient whose H. pylori infection kept rebounding, despite treating his family. It was when he sheepishly brought in his mistress for treatment that they were finally able to kick the infection for good.

THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND THE HEART

We typically don’t think of a  weak immune system as having much to do with heart health, but as with H. pylori, undetected viruses and other antigens can prey on the  cardiovascular system. Although it is risky to make assumptions based on symptoms alone, it is common for people who complain of chronic pain and fatigue to have a chronic virus. Most often they are the ones associated specifically with atherosclerosis: Cytomegalovirus, coxsackievirus, chlamydia pneumonia and porphyromonas gingivitis (for this last one, proper oral hygiene is key). If this is the case, it is important to track the protocol with follow-up tests that look at antibodies and the viral load, even if patients report they are feeling wonderful. Natural medicine offers the most effective treatment against viruses, especially when compared to the prescription drug Interferon, which has caused more suicides than all other drugs combined throughout history. The goal, along with correcting the patient’s diet and digestion, is to boost the natural killer cells to combat the virus. This can be done quite nicely with a synergistic combination of botanicals. When considering heart disease and immunity, one also needs to consider liver function, especially when running tests for C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and homocysteine. CRP is made in the liver as a response to inflammation. If your client’s CRP comes back normal while other markers for atherosclerosis are present, it could be due to fatty liver, the use of multiple drugs, or other issues that impair liver function. When the liver is impaired, it simply won’t crank out the CRP like it should, and lab levels for CRP will come back normal. Likewise, statin drugs lower CRP and produce a kosher lab panel, but this is rather like taping over the fix-engine light instead of actually fixing the engine. Another heart culprit is the amino acid homocysteine, which destroys arterial walls and promotes atherosclerosis. Most people understand high homocysteine levels to be related to B vitamin deficiencies, but hypochlorhydria (too little stomach acid), and the use of estrogen creams and birth control pills can also raise homocysteine. A lesser- known culprit is poor liver function, when the liver’s methylation pathway is not functioning. Therefore this pathway should always be supported in conjunction with the usual homocysteine-lowering therapies.

HORMONES AND THE HEART

When we think of hormones, we typically think of sex hormones and how clumsily they function for many people. What most provokes atherosclerosis, however, is a less glamorous but exceptionally touchy hormone that we tend to abuse: insulin. After years of a high-carb, sugar-laden diet that calls on the pancreas repeatedly to flood the system with insulin, the body’s cells become insulin resistant. This leaves excess amounts of insulin circulating through the bloodstream, leading to high blood pressure, thicker blood (which can gum-up the cardiovascular system), and an increase of the enzyme activity that elevates cholesterol. In men, testosterone is protective of the cardiovascular system, just as estrogen is for women. In cases of insulin resistance, however, we see men becoming estrogen dominant (developing “breasts”) and women becoming testosterone dominant (growing “beards”), and we know cardiovascular destruction is well under way. These are the folks who fatigue after meals, whose fasting blood sugar is over 100 and who typically show high LDL and triglyceride levels. For these folks, regulating dysglycemia is imperative to heart health. Thyroid health also plays an important role in cholesterol levels and heart health. When a person’s thyroid is under functioning, he or she makes fat more quickly than it is burned, which drives up triglycerides, cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Hypothyroidism also makes the liver and gallbladder sluggish, which contributes to high cholesterol.

THE AUTOIMMUNE OR NEUROLOGICAL CONNECTION TO THE HEART

There are times when all the previously mentioned possibilities have been exhausted, treatments have been attempted, and still arterial inflammation and high cholesterol persist. It is then that we must suspect an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease occurs when the body attacks it’s own arterial walls, hormones, or environmental compounds such as heavy metals, that in turn lead to high cholesterol and atherosclerosis. At that point it is important to run an immune panel for direction in taming the autoimmune response. This information is vital in knowing specifically how to treat each autoimmune case, as the wrong approach can exacerbate the condition. Another factor to consider is brain health, and an understanding of functional neurology is important. When brain degeneration is accelerated due to autoimmune disease, insulin surges, nutrient deficiencies and other factors, autonomic function can begin to    fail. Knowing how to assess and address neurological function can aid in heart health.

TO LOWER OR NOT TO LOWER CHOLESTEROL?

As long as you are addressing the source of inflammation, there are times when it is still prudent to lower overly high cholesterol in order to put the brakes on artery-clogging atherosclerosis. This can be done with compounds that contain red yeast rice extract, which studies show to be more effective than statin drugs, while absent of the  dangerous side effects. (This compound proved so beneficial that the FDA banned it, citing it was “too effective to be a natural agent.” When the ban was lifted and it came back on the market, the pharmaceutical industry successfully bankrupted about half the manufacturers through expensive litigation.) If cholesterol levels refuse to lower with these compounds, then consider gallbladder congestion. As mentioned earlier, bile escorts cholesterol from the body, so a sluggish  and congested gallbladder will hamper this mechanism.

DOING THE WORK

Of course, sufficient essential fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamin D on top of specific  therapies are important. Addressing cardiovascular damage naturally requires patience, dedication and thoroughness, not just from the practitioner, but especially from the patient. As all practitioners know, noncompliance can sabotage the best of care. When your clients present with inflammation markers and poor cardiovascular health, you can ask them, “How deep do you want to go? Here are some steps I’d like to take with you,” and outline what has been presented in this article. In the end it’s up to them whether they want to do the work, but it’s up to you to provide them the options for resolution. You need to know you have done more than the modern equivalent of drilling a hole in their head. Elaine Fawcett, MJ, NTP, is a health writer living in Aurora, Oregon. She can be reached at dandelion@wbcable.net