“Treatments for coronary heart disease include heart-healthy lifestyle changes, medicines, medical procedures and surgery, and cardiac rehabilitation.”

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Surgical procedure in which one or more blocked coronary arteries are bypassed by a blood vessel graft to restore normal blood flow to the heart. These graft usually come from the patient’s own arteries and veins located in the chest (thoracic), leg (saphenous) or arm (radial). The graft goes around the blocked artery (or arteries) to create new pathways for blood to flow to the heart.

1.) Lifestyle changes

Making a commitment to the following healthy lifestyle changes can go a long way toward promoting healthier arteries:

• Quit smoking.
• Eat healthy foods.
• Exercise regularly.
• Lose excess weight.
• Reduce stress.

2.) Drugs

Various drugs can be used to treat coronary artery disease, including:

• Cholesterol-modifying medications. By decreasing the amount of cholesterol in the blood, especially low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or the “bad”) cholesterol, these drugs decrease the primary material that deposits on the coronary arteries. Your doctor can choose from a range of medications, including statins, niacin, fibrates and bile acid sequestrants.

• Your doctor may recommend taking a daily aspirin or other blood thinner. This can reduce the tendency of your blood to clot, which may help prevent obstruction of your coronary arteries.

If you’ve had a heart attack, aspirin can help prevent future attacks. There are some cases where aspirin isn’t appropriate, such as if you have a bleeding disorder or you’re already taking another blood thinner, so ask your doctor before starting to take aspirin.

• Beta blockers. These drugs slow your heart rate and decrease your blood pressure, which decreases your heart’s demand for oxygen. If you’ve had a heart attack, beta blockers reduce the risk of future attacks.
• Nitroglycerin. Nitroglycerin tablets, sprays and patches can control chest pain by temporarily dilating your coronary arteries and reducing your heart’s demand for blood.
• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs). These similar drugs decrease blood pressure and may help prevent progression of coronary artery disease.

3.) Procedures to restore and improve blood flow

Coronary artery stent

Sometimes more aggressive treatment is needed. Here are some options:

• Angioplasty and stent placement (percutaneous coronary revascularization). Your doctor inserts a long, thin tube (catheter) into the narrowed part of your artery. A wire with a deflated balloon is passed through the catheter to the narrowed area. The balloon is then inflated, compressing the deposits against your artery walls.

A stent is often left in the artery to help keep the artery open. Some stents slowly release medication to help keep the artery open.

• Coronary artery bypass surgery. A surgeon creates a graft to bypass blocked coronary arteries using a vessel from another part of your body. This allows blood to flow around the blocked or narrowed coronary artery as described at the top of this article. Because this requires open-heart surgery, it’s most often reserved for cases of multiple narrowed coronary arteries.

Alternative medicine

Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of unsaturated fatty acid that’s thought to reduce inflammation throughout the body, a contributing factor to coronary artery disease. However, recent studies have not shown them to be beneficial. More research is needed.

• Fish and fish oil. Fish and fish oil are the most effective sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Fatty fish — such as salmon, herring and light canned tuna — contain the most omega-3 fatty acids and, therefore, the most benefit. Fish oil supplements may offer benefit, but the evidence is strongest for eating fish.
• Flax and flaxseed oil. Flax and flaxseed oil also contain beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, though studies have not found these sources to be as effective as fish. The shell on raw flaxseeds also contains soluble fiber, which can help lower blood cholesterol.
• Other dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Other dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids include canola oil, soybeans and soybean oil. These foods contain smaller amounts of omega-3 fatty acids than do fish and fish oil, and evidence for their benefit to heart health isn’t as strong.

Part II Causes of CAD:

Coronary artery disease is thought to begin with damage or injury to the inner layer of a coronary artery, sometimes as early as childhood. The damage may be caused by various factors, including the following which are problems we can prevent or better control through better diet, some form of exercise balanced with rest.  Including keeping our stress controlled in a productive way (like work out program to doing hobbies).

Causes that are modifiable (that we can change or help control):

• Smoking-Stop it
• High blood pressure-Lose weight, decrease junk food and sodium in your diet, exercise.  If on B/P meds be compliant in taking them.
• High cholesterol-Eat better food, lose weight, or if on anti-cholesterol meds be compliant in taking them.
• Diabetes or insulin resistance-Lose weight, eat foods=no sugar, and be compliant with your diabetic meds.
• Sedentary lifestyle-Get in an exercise program; stay active.

Causes that are nonmodifiable (that you can’t change):

-Race:  Race refers to common characteristics passed down through the genes. Non-Hispanic whites (63%) have roots in Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. Blacks (13%) have origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa or Afro-Caribbean countries. Asians (5%) may have ancestors anywhere from India to Japan. This geographic diversity within racial groups means that there are actually greater genetic differences within than between certain groups.

Know this: Rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease vary among people of different backgrounds.

Adults living in the United States are more likely to die from heart disease than any other cause, regardless of their racial or ethnic heritage. But certain minority groups face a greater risk than others. These differences appear to stem from an increased prevalence of high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity seen in some populations compared with white Americans.

Still, teasing out the reasons isn’t easy. Genetic differences do exist. But diversity within different racial and ethnic groups means that genetic traits common to some groups can’t be generalized to an entire race.

Many intertwined factors likely contribute to the higher heart disease rates seen among some groups. Their lower average incomes affect where they live, which in turn affects their access to healthy food, safe places to exercise, and quality health care. In other words, “your ZIP code is more important than your genetic code,” says Dr. Eldrin Lewis, a cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

But even after adjustment for factors related to socioeconomic differences, disparities in rates of heart disease and its risk factors persist, Dr. Lewis says. In the United States, nearly half of all black adults have some form of cardiovascular disease, compared with about one-third of all white adults. A genetic difference that predisposes blacks to high blood pressure might play a role.

For further details on race groups and their risk at coronary heart disease see https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/race-and-ethnicity

–Heredity:  A family history of heart disease is associated with a higher risk of coronary artery disease, especially if a close relative developed heart disease at an early age. Your risk is highest if your father or a brother was diagnosed with heart disease before age 55 or if your mother or a sister developed it before age 65.

-Age:Just like a car the older you get the highier the risk of problems with the vehicle and the same with the body. 

-Gender: Men are generally at greater risk of coronary artery disease. However, the risk for women increases after menopause.

Learn more tomorrow on treatment of CAD in Part III!

“The most common symptom of breast cancer is a new lump or mass, but other symptoms are also possible. It’s important to have any breast change checked by a health care provider.”

American Cancer Society

“Some human cells, including cancer cells, divide with a 24-hour rhythm. One of the main human circadian rhythm genes, cryptochrome, has been associated with diabetes and depression. Both of these discoveries grew from work with plants.”

Dr. Steven Kay (Biologist at the University of California)

“You probably already knew that plants were the original medicines that people would use when they were sick. Did you know that we still use them today to come up with new cures for illnesses”

Norfolk Botanical Gardens

6. Food!

Another way that plants are so beneficial is that they are an abundant diverse, and arguably the most important food source! A wide range of fruits and veggies are provided by incredible plants, providing a significant amount of our fibre intake. Fibre is vital for maintaining a healthy digestive system and feeding our microbiome .

7. Provide Medicines

As well as food, plants provide us with our original medicines. These natural sources of medicine are something that we, as Natural Health Practitioners, still utilise today because of their incredible potential, wide range of applications and proven effectiveness. In 2002, a study stated that ‘Plants are arguably poised for a comeback as sources of human health products’ and we are consistently finding that to be true.

8. Improve Soil and Water Quality

Some plants can act as filters in the water, filtering out toxins, bugs and added pollutants to keep the water clean. Some plants can do the same in the soil; those with a compost bin for ‘recycling’ plants scraps can support this! Putting veggie scraps back into the garden can cause growing plants to thrive by providing essential nutrients and environments for beneficial microorganisms.

9. Act as Protection

Plants are incredible useful for protection, of us and animals. All different parts of plants can provide habitats and homes for many animal species, which is why it’s important to be mindful of how plants are sourced and utilised, we don’t want to be taking away homes!
Plants also provide a large quantity of our building supplies and the shade provided from trees protects humans from harmful UV radiation, as well as from the weather!

10. Moderating Temperature

Plants have a significant impact on moderating temperatures. Indoors, it is thought that plants can reduce heating and cooling costs due to this incredible ability.  While outdoors, one study showed that plants like solitary trees, clumps of trees and vines had the ability to reduce surface temperature on buildings in urban environments (7).  This is also important to remember as we tackle tough issues like climate change… maybe a few more indoor plants could cool down your home instead of the air conditioner.

Norfolk Botanical Garden (http://norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/education/online-resources/power-plants/plants-people) states the following about how plants enhance our lives:

References For 6-10.

1. Relf, PD & Lohr, VI 2003, ‘Human issues in Horticulture’, Horticultural Science, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 984-993
2. Rowe, DB 2011, ‘Green roofs as a means of pollution abatement’, Environmental Pollution, vol. 159, no. 8-9, pp. 2100-2110
3. Victorian Government 2016, ‘Fibre in Food’, Better Health Channel, <https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/fibre-in-food>
4. Raskin, I, Ribnicky, DM, Komarnytsky, S, Ilic, N et al. 2002, ‘Plants and human health in the twenty-first century’, Trends in Biotechnology, vol. 20, no. 12, pp. 522-531.
5. Arvidson, K 2016, ‘Biodiversity, Nature and Human Health’, Natural Medicine Journal, vol. 8, no. 10, n.p.
6. Organic gardening Tips 2012, ‘Improving Soil Quality’, Organic Gardening Tips, <http://www.organicgardeningtips.info/improving-soil-quality/>

Millward, AA, Torchia, M, Laursen, AE & Rothman, LD 2014, ‘Vegetation placement for summer built surface temperature moderation in an urban microclimate’, Environmental Management, vol. 53, no. 6, pp. 1043-1057.

“As we outlined in a previous blog post, having plants in your office can bring countless health benefits. This is because not only do they reduce dust, mold and bacteria levels (which can trigger allergies and make symptoms worse), but they can also boost concentration and improve your mood and morale.”

Greenleaf.com