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Willner Chemists: The Nutritional Supplement Professionals
Page 49
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Heart Health Myths Dispelled
Myth 1: Cardiovascular disease is
more of a man’s problem.
Fact: Many women still find themselves
worrying more about the heart health of the
men in their lives than about their own. But
the statistics show that many women have at
least one heart disease or stroke risk factor.
Women who are menopausal or have
diabetes are at an increased risk. In a 2008
survey, cardiovascular disease accounted for
28 percent of all male deaths in this country
and 29.7 percent of all female deaths.
In recent years, there has been increased
public education about women’s risk of heart
disease, so hopefully this is one myth that is
well on its way to being history.
Myth 2: Everyone should take an
Aspirin a day to support heart
health.
Fact: It may surprise you to know that the
common routine of taking a baby Aspirin each
day to support heart health might do more
harm than good for some people.
The main issue here is primary prevention
versus secondary prevention. Primary
prevention means preventing a first event (the
first heart attack or stroke), whereas secondary
prevention means preventing those who have
already experienced an event from having
another. In the case of Aspirin, there is a good
track record for using a daily low dose in
secondary prevention; here it does appear to
make a meaningful and measurable difference
in reducing secondary events.
However, when it comes to primary
prevention, the evidence is less consistent. For
women, Aspirin probably has little effect on
heart attack prevention but may produce
small decreases in risk of ischemic stroke. For
men, there is no benefit for ischemic stroke,
but there may be a small decrease in chance
for heart attacks. On the other hand, there is
a well-known increase in risk of serious
gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding with long-term
Aspirin use in both men and women.
Because of this, the decision to use Aspirin
for primary prevention remains controversial
and needs to be carefully evaluated for each
individual to see if small potential benefits
outweigh the known risks. Factors that
increase GI bleeding risk include gender (men
are twice as likely to suffer a GI bleed than
women), increasing age, use of other NSAIDs,
and history of gastric ulcer or GI bleeding.
Aspirin also carries an increased risk for
hemorrhagic stroke in men (about 1.7 times
the risk of those not using Aspirin).
Overall, the decision to use Aspirin in
primary prevention needs to be based on
individual risk factors and fully discussed with
your qualified health care practitioner.
Myth 3: People with high blood
pressure have symptoms.
Fact: In most cases, these conditions have
no symptoms. They are discovered only when
checked. A new study has estimated that
more than half of people with high blood
pressure are unaware of their condition.
High blood pressure is an important risk
factors for cardiovascular disease.
Blood pressure should be checked, in
healthy adults, every two years. If you have a
family history of high blood pressure, or are a
man over the age of 40 or a woman over the
age of 50 (or postmenopausal), you should
have your blood pressure checked. While you
are at it, have your blood sugar levels tested
as well. Type 2
diabetes is another
important risk
factor for CVD
and is another
condition that
often has few
symptoms early
on.
Myth 4: Heart
attacks always
start with severe
chest pain.
Fact: Although the most common
symptom of heart attack (for both men and
women) is chest pain, it is not always present.
Even for those who do experience chest pain,
it can be mild and feel more like pressure or
discomfort.
In the real world, a heart attack may not
look or feel like you expect it to, but there are
some common symptoms (other than chest
pain) to watch out for, including:
• nausea
• sweating
• dizziness
• shortness of breath
• jaw, arm, back, neck, or shoulder pain
• The sudden and unusual occurrence of
any of these symptoms should
prompt concern and a call for
help.
Myth 5: If heart disease runs in
my family, I’ll also get it.
Fact: Genetics play an important role in the
risk of many diseases, including heart disease,
but they are not the whole story. There is a
complex relationship between our genes,
lifestyle, and nutrition that is still far from
being fully understood. What seems clear so
far is that our diet, lifestyle, and environment
have a big impact on how our genes are
expressed.
So, just having a family history of heart
disease does not mean you are absolutely
destined to suffer from heart disease. But it
may mean that you need to be all the more
vigilant when it comes to other modifiable
lifestyle and nutritional risk factors.
Myth 6: Younger women are not
at risk of cardiovascular disease.
Fact: Women over 50 are generally at
higher risk for heart disease, but younger
women can also be at risk depending on their
situation. Here are some risk factors to
consider.
Use of birth control pills may increase the
risk of blood clots or high blood pressure for
women with high blood pressure, or who
smoke.
Pregnancy can significantly increase the risk
of dangerously high blood pressure for some
women. The risks are more prevalent in
women who already have high blood
pressure, are obese before pregnancy, have
diabetes, or who have a
history of certain
autoimmune
conditions such as
rheumatoid
arthritis.
Lifestyle and
dietary choices
made earlier in life
can also have a major
impact on heart health
later on, so younger women
(and men!) who are not at risk
now still need to be conscious of
how their choices will affect their
heart health down the road.
Myth 7: I eat a low-fat diet, so
I’m safe from heart disease.
Fact: A decrease in overall fat intake is not
associated with meaningful decreases in
cardiovascular disease. What is more
important is the type of fat consumed as well
as what other nutrients are being used in
place of fat. There are three main types of fats
to consider: saturated, unsaturated, and trans
fats.
Saturated fats have long been tagged as
“bad” and reducing their intake has been
promoted for weight loss, CVD prevention,
and other health benefits. The truth is,
saturated fats are an important part of the diet
and we need them. The problem is that many
consume too much, too often, and at the
expense of other important nutrients. One of
the problems that has arisen in labeling
saturated fat as universally bad for us is that
food manufacturers have replaced them with
other, often less healthy, substitutes such as
trans fats and refined carbohydrates.
Trans fats are not naturally found in large
amounts in foods, but certain processing and
cooking methods can dramatically increase
them. There is a strong link between trans fats
and CVD, and trans fats are known to raise
unhealthy cholesterol (LDL) while also
reducing healthy cholesterol (HDL). Efforts are
therefore being made by several countries to
remove industrially produced trans fats from
the food supply.
The real stars in the fat debate are the
polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats,
an increase of which has been associated with
positive heart health outcomes.
Myth 8: Eggs are high in
cholesterol and are therefore
bad for heart health.
Fact: A 2013 review of 16 separate studies
on the issue of eggs and cardiovascular
disease found that there was no increased risk
of heart disease in healthy people eating an
egg a day compared to those who rarely or
never ate eggs.
However, the review also found that high
egg consumption was associated with an
increased risk of coronary heart disease in
type 2 diabetics. Of course, type 2 diabetics
are already at increased risk of heart disease.
This shows that the case for eggs is not as
black and white as some may believe and
may have as much to do with the person
eating the egg as the egg itself. Overall, a
moderate intake of free-range eggs is likely
fine for most healthy people.
Myth 9: People with heart
disease should avoid exercise.
Fact: Exercise is health promoting for pretty
much everyone. We are designed to move,
and the list of exercise’s health benefits is
long. In the case of cardiovascular disease, a
recently published review of more than 300
studies found that exercise is as good as, if not
better than, current drug treatments for
preventing second episodes of heart attack,
recovering after stroke, and preventing
diabetes.
. . . continued on page 53
Important Notice: The information given here is designed to help you make informed decisions about your health, and the proper use of dietary supplements. It is not intended as a
substitute for medical advice, nor a substitute for any treatment that may have been pre- scribed by your doctor. If you have a medical problem, you should seek medical help. Products
described herein are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or mitigate disease.
M
any commonly held beliefs about heart health are
actually myths. With all the concern and information
available, sometimes the facts can get muddled and
misunderstandings can arise. Well-meaning internet stories
have also created some myths about risk, prevention, and
presentation of Cardiovascular Disease or CVD. This article
will address some of the most common myths and
misunderstandings, to help you to get to the facts.
