newlifeforhealth.com -- Cardiovascular Disease

11 "risk factors" for cardiovascular disease have been identified as follows:

                                          1. Sex
unmodifiable risk factors     2. Age
                                          3. Genetics

                                          4. Serum Cholesterol
                                          5. High Blood Pressure
                                          6. Smoking
                                          7. Lack of Exercise
                                          8. Stress (how you handle it)
                                          9. Diabetes
                                            10. Overfat
                                          11. Triglycerides

However, in recent years additional risk factors have been identified:

                                           12. Homocysteine
                                           13. Hyperinsulinemia
                                           14. C-Reactive Protein (a marker of inflammation)

15. Lack of disease-preventing phytochemicals and other "food factors" in a varied, plant-based diet (i.e., fiber, vitamins B6 and folic acid which break down the homocysteine, other phytochemicals)

There have been a lot of advances in the understanding of cardiovascular disease in recent years. What is becoming more and more evident is the multi-factorial nature of the disease and the bigger picture truth as to who is at greatest risk for having a cardiovascular event. Are you aware that 1/2 of all heart attacks occur in people with LOW LDL-cholesterol??? Although the most recently issued report from the National Cholesterol Education Program (Adult Treatment Panel III) continues to focus on LDL-cholesterol as the "primary target of therapy" for cardiovascular disease, the expert panel also recognizes the "benefit beyond LDL lowering: the metabolic syndrome as a secondary target of therapy". Cholesterol is not the whole picture, and taken by itself it is debatable whether it is a very good predictor of cardiovascular disease at all.

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