Editor’s Note: This is the final article in a series on cardiovascular health. You can estimate your cardiovascular risk by utilizing our Cardiovascular Risk Calculator. As part of the continued enhancement of the Revive Your Life community, we are proud to introduce the first of what will be many professionally-designed, interactive tools meant to improve the user experience and quality of information provided by this site. Make sure to check out the “Related Articles” at the bottom of this post for previous articles in this series.

Americans spend billions of dollars each year on pharmaceutical drugs. Four of the ten mostly widely prescribed drugs are used to treat conditions related to cardiovascular health, with cholesterol-lowering statins topping the list for most of the past decade. With the hefty price tag and concerns over the long-term effects, many consumers are looking for more natural alternatives to improve their cardiovascular health. We close out our series on cardiovascular disease by looking at some of the more promising supplements and alternative treatments that are available.

Warning: If you are on prescription drugs, it is important that you check with your doctor before taking any supplement.

CoQ10

CoQ10 is an important compound used by every cell in your body to convert the foods you eat into usable energy. Since your heart pumps blood 24/7 for 75+ years, it should come as no surprise that the highest concentration of CoQ10 in your body is found in your heart. Emerging research indicates that there may be a strong link between CoQ10 deficiency and the onset of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers believe that the beneficial effects of CoQ10 lie in its ability to improve energy production, inhibit the formation of blood clots and act as a powerful antioxidant. Several studies have found that CoQ10 may also play a role in regulating blood pressure. In a large number of subjects, supplementation with CoQ10 produced a 10% drop in blood pressure, making it comparable to many hypertensive drugs.

The older you get, the less CoQ10 your body produces. Some medications can cause a decrease in CoQ10 levels as well. Ironically, the statins that are so widely prescribed to control cholesterol and ward off cardiovascular disease significantly reduce the level of this heart-essential nutrient. Some experts argue that this depletion of CoQ10 may put individuals at more risk than having high cholesterol in the first place. Many doctors are beginning to recommend CoQ10 supplementation for their patients who take statins. If you’re worried about your CoQ10 level, ask your doctor to check your ubiquinone level (it’s a fancy name for CoQ10).

Food sources of CoQ10 include fish and organ meats, but it is almost impossible to get enough from your diet alone. You would need to eat over 2 pounds of beef each day to get the minimum daily dosage of 60 mg. CoQ10 supplements are available in pill or capsule form and usually contain between 5-100 milligrams of the nutrient. To get the heart-protective effects, 60-300 mg is recommended as a typical dosage.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Supplementation with omega-3′s or “fish oil” has been on the rise in recent years, and with good reason. A growing body of scientific evidence points to the many benefits of these heart-healthy fats. Omega-3′s have been shown to lower triglyceride levels, normalize blood pressure, decrease the formation of clots and reduce inflammation. As a result, the use of omega-3′s is becoming more widely accepted by the mainstream medical community.

Diets high in fish have long been associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and eating more fish is a great way to boost your intake of omega-3′s. But even if you eat fish regularly, you may not be getting as many omega-3′s as you think. There is a big difference in the fat profiles of farm-raised and wild-caught fish. Farm-raised fish have a higher ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids than their wild counterparts. These extra omega-6′s actually prevent the absorption of omega-3 fatty acids by competing for the enzymes that are used to break them down.

Supplements are a relatively cheap and easy way to make sure you are getting enough omega-3 fatty acids. When choosing a product, don’t get hung up on the amount of “fish oil” it contains. Instead, check the label to see how much EPA and DHA it contains. These are the main omega-3 fatty acids your body needs. A supplement may contain 1,200 mg of fish oil, but only 600 mg of it might be EPA and DHA. The recommended daily intake is 1,000-2,000 mg of combined EPA + DHA. Look for a product with a 2:1 or 3:2 ratio of EPA to DHA to maximize the cardiovascular benefits.

Phytosterols

Plant sterols and stanols (also called phytosterols) are substances that occur naturally in foods like nuts, grains, fruits and vegetables. They are basically the plant version of the cholesterol molecules found in animals and get treated the same way in your digestive tract. When you eat them, they get in the way and prevent real cholesterol from being absorbed by your body. Although phytosterols are found in all plant-based foods, the amount is often too low to have a significant cholesterol-lowering effect.

In recent years, manufacturers have begun adding phytosterols to a variety of foods like orange juice, margarine, and yogurt. The FDA has granted these products “health claim” status, meaning that experts widely agree on the cholesterol-lowering benefits of phytosterol-fortified foods. Research shows that a daily intake of 2 grams of phytosterols (the amount found in two glasses of fortified OJ) can lower your LDL by 10-15%, a reduction comparable to taking a low dose of some statins. Phytosterols are also available in powder and capsule form, although these products have not been studied thoroughly enough to qualify for FDA health claim status.

Niacin for Cholesterol

It may not be fair to label niacin, also known as vitamin B3, as an “alternative treatment” since doctors have been using it for decades to treat abnormal cholesterol levels. Despite this long track record of safety and effectiveness, niacin doesn’t receive much attention these days and is often overlooked in favor of statin drugs. Like statins, niacin lowers both LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. More importantly, niacin can raise your good cholesterol (HDL) levels by 15-35%, a claim that not even the best statin can make.

Perhaps niacin is not as widely prescribed as it could be due to a common side effect. Most people experience a warm, burning sensation and reddening of the skin shortly after taking niacin. This “niacin flush” can be somewhat intense and alarming at first, but it is really quite harmless. It is caused by the dilation of blood vessels in response to the niacin hitting your system. The flushing usually lasts about 15-20 minutes and can be reduced by taking an aspirin 30 minutes before you take your niacin. As your body gets used to niacin, the flushing response becomes less intense and eventually disappears completely. When you compare the temporary inconvenience of the niacin flush with the potentially dangerous side effects of statins, a few hot flashes seem pretty easy to deal with.

Before you run out and grab a bottle of niacin, you need to keep a few things in mind. For starters, three very different compounds, “nicotinic acid”, “niacinamide”, and “inositol nicotinate” are all commonly referred to as niacin and sold as supplements. Nicotinic acid is the only form that has been shown to improve cholesterol levels. Secondly, we are talking about a pretty hefty dose of niacin (usually over 1000 mg) so you should be under a doctor’s care and have regular blood tests. In rare instances liver damage can occur, particularly with slow release or “no-flush” niacin formulations. Prescription forms of niacin are available and are considerably cheaper than most other types of cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Spinal Adjustment for High Blood Pressure

Chiropractic medicine’s notion that the body’s structure (mainly the spine) and its function are related makes a lot of sense when you stop to think about it. Contrast that with a mainstream health care system that seems focused on treating symptoms instead of the underlying cause, and you can see why more people are turning to chiropractic. The treatment of hypertension offers a perfect example of this philosophical difference. Traditional medicine classifies 90% of all hypertension as “essential”,  meaning it has no known cause. The typical course of action is to prescribe medicine to lower blood pressure (the symptom) to an acceptable level. A recent study sheds light on one potential cause of essential hypertension and may change the way it is treated in the future.

The study involved 50 patients with early stage high blood pressure. Half of the subjects received a special chiropractic adjustment to realign the atlas (the top vertebrate), while the other half received a sham adjustment (like a placebo in a drug study). The patients who got the real adjustment saw an average 14 point greater drop in systolic pressure and an 8 point greater decrease in diastolic blood pressure than those who received the fake adjustment. The procedure had the effect of two blood pressure medications given in combination and had no side effects. I found it interesting that the study was run by an M.D. from the University of Chicago hypertension center, not a chiropractor.

The theory is that the misaligned atlas puts pressure on the nerve centers that control all of the muscles in your body. This pressure disrupts the signals that control the muscles in the walls of your arteries, causing the arteries to constrict and your blood pressure to go up. Realigning the atlas takes pressure off of the nerves and causes blood pressure to return to normal. Like I said, it seems to make a lot of sense when you think about it. So much sense that I gave it a try. My blood pressure was running around 140/95 despite being on medication to lower it. Since my last trip to the chiropractor, it has averaged 125/84, without medication.

I hope you have found the information in this series interesting and useful. It is impossible to make a 100% guarantee that you will not suffer from heart disease in the future, but the preventative measures you take now can go a long way in reducing your risk. Leading a healthy and balanced lifestyle, finding open-minded health care professionals and arming yourself with the knowledge you need to make informed decisions is a great step in the right direction.

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