The Hidden Crisis in Circulatory Disease

A major effort is planned by the American Heart Association to raise public awareness of peripheral artery disease.  Patients with “poor circulation” are not being detected, evaluated or treated for this condition.  Affected patients have up to a four-fold risk of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death. An estimated 200 million people world-wide are affected by PAD.  Conventional treatment is basically regular exercise until the condition gets bad enough to require surgery.  Medications can help symptoms, but do not alter the disease process.  IV chelation can be a very effective therapy.

International College of Integrative Medicine  or American College for Advancement in Medicine  to fine an integrative doctor who offers chelation therapy.

Celebration of HealthAssociation website  

Frequent Breaks from Prolonged Sitting are Beneficial

Taking frequent breaks of 5 minutes from prolonged sitting improved the metabolic response to a meal in diabetic patients.  Measurable effects in blood glucose, insulin levels, and suppression of non-esterified fatty acids persisted for 24 hours.  This could result in improved glucose control in diabetic patients and improved weight loss.  Simply standing for 5 minutes every 30 minutes and walking on a treadmill for a similar time were effective.

See Dr. Joseph Henson at the Diabetes Research Center at the University of Leicester, in England.

Celebration of HealthAssociation website  

 

Home Births are an Option

Planned out-of-hospital births had a slight increase in perinatal mortality in a large Oregon study, but the risk was very low in both groups.  As expected the use of assisted delivery methods such as induction of labor and C-sections was much lower in home births.  Studies in Europe have shown that planned out-of-hospital births for low-risk patients can be a safe option.  Mothers and fathers often report a favorable birth experience.  The authors stress the importance of skilled midwives and careful backup coverage from obstetricians.

 

See the 12/30/15 issue of the NEJM.

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Gluten Sensitivity is a Common Problem

At least 20% of the population appears to be gluten sensitive.  Of those only one-fifth are proven Celiac disease by biopsy of the lining of the small intestine.  IGG and IGA antibodies are produced in other affected patients, who suffer from food allergies.  Those with a yeast imbalance in the digestive tract (dysbiosis) also usually do not tolerate gluten.  Fortunately, most patients with gluten sensitivity can be desensitized with either sensitivity reduction technique (tapping on acupuncture points) or low dose allergen treatment.

 International College of Integrative Medicine, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, or the American College for theAdvancement of Medicine.

Celebration of HealthAssociation website  

Best Approaches to Resistant Hypertension

If your blood pressure will not come down to normal levels despite the usual treatment, the most effective drug to add is spironolactone.  The most effective supplement is BP Natural Relief, which contains the herb rauwolfia.  BP control is a major risk factor that should not be ignored.
    

See a video interview of Dr. Bryan Williams at Family Practice News.com

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Early Intervention Might Forestall Women’s Skin Aging

Skin collagen decreases up to 50% in the few years surrounding menopause.  This is the time to treat the skin to prevent irreversible sagging of the skin.  Topical estrogen balanced with progesterone can help prevent this loss.  Laser resurfacing, microneedling, topical vitamin A, or radiofrequency treatments can also help.  Hormone treatment is reasonable, according to dermatologists, as long as there is not a strong family history of breast or uterine cancer.

See Dr. Diane Madfes at the procedings of the summer, 2015 session of the American Academy of Dermatology.

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The Prevalence of Diabetes

Between 1988 and 2012, the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes decreased slightly.  However, the amount of patients diagnosed with diabetes increased, especially in minorities.  The diagnosis of diabetes was largely based on a fasting glucose of 126 mg/dl or a HBA1C of 6.5 or higher.  Pre-diabetes was detected in patients with fasting glucoses of 100-125 or HBA1Cs of 5.7 to 6.4.  Patients with pre-diabetes are being detected but little is being done to prevent it from growing into full-blown diabetes, where the risk skyrockets.  Diet, exercise, weight loss, cinnamon, chromium, berberine, and IV chelation are all helpful in reducing the substantial risk of diabetes.  Get tested today.

 See the NHANES study published in the Sept. 8, 2015 issue in JAMA.

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Do the Best Tests to Screen for Cardiovascular Disease

The best ways to determine if you have cardiovascular disease are non-contrast CT scans for calcium score, CardioRisk ultrasounds of the carotid arteries, the ankle/brachial blood pressure index, and a new blood test call the Corus test.  To monitor your risk over time, cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, the HBA1C, and current lifestyle habits such as smoking, diet, exercise and measurement of stress hormones with heart rate variability testing.  The Boston heart blood profile can provide comprehensive risk factor data.  Stress tests and echocardiograms give more information as needed.  Notice that I did not include many angiograms, which I think are over-rated and can lead to unnecessary surgery.

See the Sept. 8, 2015 issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Celebration of HealthAssociation website