Today we're talking about how to manage risk factors for heart disease. We invited Dr Bruce Holub to share his expertise. Dr Holub is a University Professor Emeritus at the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Guelph. He's authored over 200 papers in scientific journals, and his research programs are focused on the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease and other chronic disorders.
Also joining us is Dr Peter Alphonse. He is the Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Consultant at Nutritional Fundamentals for Health Inc. Dr Alphonse received his PhD in Human Nutritional Sciences from the University of Manitoba and has a breadth of scientific and regulatory experience in natural health products and clinical trials. He works in close collaboration with cross-functional teams on Health Canada, CFIA and USFDA.
Key Takeaways
Risk Factors Cardiovascular disease is complex and the pathophysiology is always multifactorial when we talk about risk factors. Some of them are: high blood pressure, which is hypertension - and then dyslipidemia, which is elevated blood cholesterol levels. In addition, you can also include diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity, and living a sedentary lifestyle. The pandemic has made these even more prevalent. You can also include alcohol intake and smoking. And there's a strong link between stress and the progression of cardiovascular disease.
You should never consider one risk factor in isolation. You should always consider the age, gender, family history or genetic predisposition of the individual in question.
Traditional Treatments A plethora of pharmaceutical drugs has been used for many, many decades. One of the most popular drugs for lowering cholesterol is statins, a class of drugs that are being widely prescribed. There are also anti-hypertensive drugs for blood pressure and angiotensin-converting inhibitors. There are also antiplatelets, anticoagulants and thrombolytics.
If these treatments were successful, we shouldn't still be seeing cardiovascular disease as one of the leading causes of death.
Statins Over 30% of people who participated in one of the biggest surveys conducted on statins by the National Lipid Association reported muscle damage, muscle pain and weakness. Over 60% of the participants said that they discontinued using statins because of the side effects. In older people, it's very well known that over 75% will stop using statins within the first two years because of the dementia risk and muscle pain.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids There is overwhelming evidence that omega-3 fatty acids, if consumed at higher levels than we typically see in North America today, can reduce the number of important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Omega-3s have been found to be as useful as some of the drugs that are prescribed in the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
For example, a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at a large number of people on a statin drug who added 1000 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acid per day. They saw a dramatic reduction in serious cardiac events and mortality.
For every one gram of EPA and DHA in the average person's blood, triglyceride levels will go down about seven percent. You can get a three to five percent drop in resting blood pressure with omega-3 fatty acids at appropriate levels. You also get a reduction in the potential for the blood to clot prematurely in the event of a heart attack.
DHA Benefits There are some studies showing that DHA primarily is a benefit with respect to neurological functioning, particularly in children. For example, in youngsters, higher intakes of DHA are beneficial with respect to learning ability and cognition.
Omega 3 Testing University of Guelph Research Park has developed a finger prick blood test for measuring your omega-3 status - we call it personalized omega-3 testing. So we're now recommending omega-3 personalized testing because there are so many factors as to the optimum omega-3 level in the blood: body weight, gender and genetics which can affect the level of omega-3 in the blood, even though you're taking identical doses.
Key Quote
“If we address the question of whether traditional cardiovascular treatments have been successful, we can say if they have been successful, we shouldn't still be seeing cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death. It's still reigning as the top-ranking risk factor in terms of mortality in the world." Dr Peter Alphonse PhD
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The opinions expressed in this Nutramedica program are those of the guests and contributors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Nutritional Fundamentals For Health Inc.
This video is intended for licensed or registered health professionals and students of health professions only. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Information contained in these programs is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
