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Study: Inflammation twice as bad as
cholesterol
Thursday; November 14, 2002 Posted: 9:27 AM
EST (1427 GMT) CNN.com/health
BOSTON,
Massachusetts (AP) - Despite their seemingly
healthy cholesterol levels, new research
shows many people are at high risk of
heart
attacks because of painless inflammation in
the bloodstream. The
inflammation comes from many sources and
triggers heart attacks by weakening the
walls of blood vessels, making fatty
build-ups burst. A large study published
Thursday concludes that
inflammation is
twice as likely as high cholesterol to
trigger heart attacks.
Over the past
five years, research by Dr. Paul Ridker of
Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital has
built the case for the "inflammation
hypothesis." With his latest study, many
believe the evidence is overwhelming that
inflammation is a central factor in
cardiovascular disease, by far the world's
biggest killer. "I don't think
it's a hypothesis anymore. It's proven,"
said Dr. Eric Topol, chief of cardiology at
the Cleveland Clinic.
Inflammation
can be measured with a test that checks for
C-reactive protein, or CRP, a chemical
necessary for fighting injury and infection.
What is
Inflammation?
"Inflammation"
is the process by which the body responds to
injury, and it can affect the blood vessels
that feed the heart. Doctors now
believe the condition often begins when the
fatty build-ups that line the blood vessels
become inflamed as white blood cells invade
in a misguided defence attempt. Fat cells
are also known to turn out these
inflammatory proteins. Other possible
triggers include
high blood pressure,
smoking and lingering infections such as
chronic gum disease.
Ridker's latest
study is based on an eight-year follow-up of
27,939 volunteers in the Women's Health
Study. About half of the
heart attacks and
strokes occurred in those with seemingly
safe levels of LDL, the bad cholesterol.
If you would
like to know more about "what is the immune
connection to cardiovascular disease" and
"what are some important nutrients to
support the health of your cardio vascular
health"
click here
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Jr., M.D.
Dr. Robertson is a former Emergency Room
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4Life because of his excitement about
Transfer Factor.
Dr. Robertson attended the University of
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"Transfer
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Former Emergency Room Physician
Cardio-targeted Transfer Factors.
4Life
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Leghorn hens
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This information based on an interview with
Dr W Hennen, PH. D, Chief Scientific
Officer, 4Life Research
The IMMUNE and CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS - A
BREAKTHROUGH in HEART HEALTH
by Dr Duane
Townsend
TF Cardio:
"Targeted Transfer Factors"
Recently,
the prestigious journal, Scientific
American*, reported the results of a study
on a breakthrough in the understanding of
heart disease. For the past few years, a
number of scientists have been re-evaluating
the root cause of heart disease. Health
professionals throughout the world have been
concerned and confused by the increase in
the incidence of heart disease. The article
in Scientific American authored by Dr. Paul
Libby from Harvard University explained the
new understanding of
heart disease.
During the
past few decades,
the general public has
experienced a continuous increase in hear
disease in spite of an increase in exercise,
nutritional consumption and a decrease in
fat consumption. The haunting question has
been why? last year, more than one million
people died of
heart disease. It is
estimated that more than 60 million people
in the United States have some form of
cardiovascular problem. The fact that 40% of
individuals that experience
heart attacks do
not have high cholesterol levels and exhibit
no symptoms of circulatory problems is an
unexplained phenomenon in cardiovascular
health. Underscoring the seriousness of this
problem was the discovery of how early in
life heart disease begins. In a recent study
of autopsies of individuals that died in
automobile accidents, it was found that the
majority of 16-34 year-olds suffered from
the beginning stages of heart disease.
Recently,
studies have revealed the true cause of
heart disease. This discovery explains the
increase in heart disease over the past few
decades in spite of all the efforts to
reduce heart disease.
Research has found
that the universally accepted hypothesis for
the cause of heart disease has been wrong.
Cardiologists throughout the world have
been wrong on the cause of heart disease and
wrong on how to address heart disease. It
was once believed that over a period of time
cholesterol clogged the artery like a drain
becomes clogged.
This study found that
heart disease actually begins with an
immune
system dysfunction.
Scientists
found that there are two basic pathways
through which the
immune system becomes
involved in a cascade of events that lead to
heart disease. One of these pathways begins
with an infection in the lining of the
artery. There are six known pathogens that
are found within the lining of the artery
that may be involved in triggering an
initial immune system response. The second
pathway involves modified cholesterol
entering the lining of the artery. In
response to these pathways, the immune
system creates a cascade of inflammatory
responses that initiate the process that
leads to heart disease.
The Harvard
University researcher discovered the
greatest danger was not cholesterol building
up inside the artery channel but cholesterol
building up inside the lining of the artery.
The cholesterol actually explodes into the
channel of the artery from the lining, often
without notice and in seemingly healthy
individuals with a
dysfunctional immune
system being the primary agent of disease.
Scientists found that even individuals with
strong immune systems in other areas can
suffer from this condition.
In 1997,
David Lisonbee had a theory that
heart
disease was related to a
dysfunctional
immune system. In 1998, he commissioned Dr. Hennen to initiate a research project that
would address the connection between the
immune system and heart disease. In order
for Dr. Hennen to achieve this goal, he had
to take the science of
transfer factors to a level that
had never been achieved before by any other
scientists. In August of 2002, all of his
extensive research paid off in the unveiling
of TF Cardio.
In order to
apply this breakthrough to cardiovascular
health, these researchers had to develop new
biotechnology.
Transfer factors were
bio-engineered to target pathogens hiding in
the lining of arteries. These pathogens are
believed to create the cascade of events
leading to inflammation and heart disease.
Also, the
transfer factors have the ability
to balance the immune system in the lining
of the arteries. It appears that
a balanced
and functional immune system is a key to the
health of the cardiovascular system.
Transfer Factors contain inducers
and suppressors that work together to
balance or modulate the immune system. It is
believed that
the suppressors in transfer factors
will reduce inflammation. Inflammation is a
cause of some cancers, certain types of
heart disease and other health conditions.
Although
targeted transfer factors
form the core ingredients that make this
formulation effective and exceptional,
several other important nutrients have been
included in order to address other issues in
the health of the cardiovascular system.
Nutrients such as red rice brand extract,
CoQ10, and arginine have been included in
order to provide the best overall natural
approach to a healthy cardiovascular system.
Research
has indicated that red rice brand extract
can be beneficial in maintaining healthy
levels of cholesterol. CoQ10 is an enzyme
that is involved in the production of
cellular energy in every cell in your body.
CoQ10 interacts with other natural chemicals
in the mitochondria. Every cell in your body
must have energy to stay alive and properly
perform its function. The heart is a muscle
that is constantly working and under
pressure. A great deal of energy is expended
through the heart muscle. More than 4,000
studies have been conducted on CoQ10 in
conjunction with a healthy heart.
Arginine is
involved in the production and regulation of
nitric oxide. Each time the heart beats, the
miles of circulatory system contract and
relax. The process is very important to the
delivery of blood to every cell in the body.
Nitric oxide is chemically involved in this
process.
Magnesium
and potassium are included in this formula.
These minerals are involved in the body's
attempt to maintain
healthy blood pressure.
Copper and Zinc are included because of
their influence on the immune system and in
maintaining healthy levels of "good"
cholesterol or HDL. Selenium, folic acid,
vitamins B-12, C, E, and the amino acid
lysine are included to decrease lipid
oxidation, decrease platelet aggregation,
reduce homocysteine levels and affect a
number of other important body functions.
Heart
disease is the number one killer. many
people live compromised lives because of an
unhealthy cardiovascular system.
A great
number of individuals that experience sudden
heart attacks do not have high cholesterol
levels or any signs of heat problems.
Our knowledge of nutrition and good health
has greatly increased in the past few years.
Many individuals are taking a proactive
approach to health.
4Life
Research has established itself as the
leader in cardiovascular health by being the
first scientists in the world to discover
and patent this new technology. Presently,
this is only technology that utilizes a
nutritional pathway in addressing the most
recent discovery reported by researchers
from Harvard University.
Time
Magazine - April 26, 2004
The Inflammation
Response
Fighting
Infection and Developing
Heart Disease
don't seem at first to have much in common.
Microbes, after all, attack from the outside
in, whereas a
heart attack is an inside-out
job, a gradual gumming up of the body's
plumbing system with cholesterol until blood
flow to the heart almost comes to a
standstill.
At least
that's what doctors used to think. But Dr.
Paul Ridker has changed that and the way
doctors treat
heart disease. A cardiologist
at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston,
he has spent the past decade exposing an
alliance between
the infection-fighting
immune system and heart disease that could
finally explain one of the biggest health
puzzles in recent decades:
If
cholesterol is such a major contributor to
the nation's No. 1 killer, why do half of
all heart
attacks occur in people with normal
cholesterol levels?
The answer,
it turns out, involves inflammation. As the
body's first line of defense against
invading bugs, it's the reason that cuts
swell and turn red as immune cells flood in
to attack the microbes. Fat, when it builds
up in plaques inside heart vessels, can
launch the same type of alert, causing the
plaques to rupture and lead to a
heart
attack. Ridker exploited this response by
measuring inflammation with a specific
marker of the process. C-reactive protein
(CRP). CRP is easily picked up in the blood
and reliably indicates how much inflammation
is occurring in the heart and thus how
likely a heart attack might be.
Ridker's
first encounters with disease came early on;
his family spent two years in New Delhi,
where he made a painful and personal
acquaintance with parasite after parasite.
Before getting his medical degree from
Harvard, he spent a year in sub-Saharan
Africa, treating patients in Kenya, Zambia
and Zimbabwe just as the
AIDS epidemic was
emerging. "My experiences overseas gave me
the idea that you could use a very different
toolbox to tackle the
heart-disease
problem." says Ridker.
While
researchers agree that CRP is a strong
predictor of heart disease, they are still
conduction studies to prove that reducing
CRP levels can actually cut heart-disease
risk. Ridker has shown that statins, the
cholosterol-lowering drugs, work as
anti-inflammatory agents as well, hitting
heart disease with a one-two punch. Even
more exciting are new trials showing that
the inflammatory response may play a role in
other conditions, such as Alzheimer's
disease and cancer. After decades
undercover, inflammation's role may finally
be out in the open.
By Alice
Park
Time
Magazine - April 26, 2004 Page 105 (Article
on Dr. Paul Ridker)
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