Diabetes Guidelines

Although standard blood cholesterol tests (measuring total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides) have helped doctors to accurately assess heart disease risk in many patients, recent advances in medical science have demonstrated that conventional cholesterol testing provides only limited insight into the multiple factors that underlie cardiovascular disease. In fact, these tests identify only 40% of those at risk for coronary heart disease.

The good news is, scientists have developed a more advanced blood test that can far more accurately gauge your risk of heart disease. The Vertical Auto Profile (VAP) test augments the standard cholesterol profile with additional measurements that can identify the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Best of all, the VAP test not only offers a comprehensive assessment of cardiovascular risk, but also supplies vital information that can help you and your doctor formulate a customized disease-prevention program and measure its progress over time. This powerful diagnostic tool can help you take the steps necessary to avoid preventable health catastrophes — like heart attack and stroke — today.

The baby-boom generation understands that as they age, their risk for heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular events continues to increase. Not content to succumb to disease and disability, this population is embracing a proactive, preventive approach to health care that includes advanced techniques of risk assessment such as the Vertical Auto Profile (VAP) cholesterol test.

Awareness of the VAP test is important for anyone who wants to stop cardiovascular disease in its tracks, even before signs and symptoms manifest. The VAP test is performed just like a traditional cholesterol panel: a technician or nurse draws blood and submits it to a laboratory. At reasonable cost, the VAP test provides more information than routine cholesterol tests and expands on this data. The comprehensive information derived from the VAP test enables physicians to more accurately predict their patients’ risk of heart disease, and to customize more aggressive, patient-specific treatment plans.

Even if your doctor’s office does not yet regularly utilize the VAP test, it is very likely that your physician will recognize the value of this advanced cholesterol screening tool, and will use the more detailed information it provides to devise the best treatment program to reduce your cardiovascular risk.

How the VAP Test Works

Routine cholesterol tests provide only the four following measurements:

1. Total cholesterol
2. Triglycerides
3. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL, the “detrimental” lipid), determined by a mathematical calculation, not by direct measurement
4. High-density lipoprotein (HDL, the “beneficial”lipid).

The standard lipid panel above is what physicians have relied on for years to assess their patients’ risk of cardiovascular disease. It has been a successful tool, helping physicians to lower patient cholesterol levels using a variety of medical therapies, including statin drugs, and motivating people to make lifesaving changes in their diet and lifestyle.

However, there are serious limitations to relying solely on the standard cholesterol panel. Most important, it can identify only about 40% of patients at risk for coronary heart disease.2 The truth is, many risk factors are involved in the development of heart disease, and for some people, high cholesterol may or may not be one of them. The well-known Framingham Study illustrated that the higher the cholesterol, the higher the statistical risk of a heart attack.3 Nonetheless, a frightening number of heart attacks still occur every day in people whose cholesterol values are seemingly normal. In fact, the American Heart Association reports that 50% of men and 64% of women who died suddenly of coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms!

Heart disease can lurk silently within, hidden and unsuspected. However, the additional information provided by the VAP test can help identify at-risk patients more accurately than routine cholesterol tests.

The expanded information from the VAP test includes:

• More accurate, direct measurement of LDL.
• Measurement of LDL pattern density. This is important because small, dense LDL (“Pattern B”) triples the likelihood of developing coronary plaque and suffering a heart attack.4
• Measurement of lipoprotein subclasses, which include HDL2 and HDL3, intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL), very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL1, VLDL2, VLDL3), and lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], a particularly dangerous lipoprotein that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Patients who test “normal”in a routine cholesterol panel often are found to be at risk for heart disease after taking the VAP test. This is crucially important, not only to diagnose a number of lipid disorders and optimize the choice of medications, but also for tracking improvement when patients are working to reduce their numbers, whether with drugs or lifestyle changes. Clearly, more information means more effective treatment, and thus better health outcomes.

In addition, VAP is the only cholesterol profile that tests for all the present and emerging risk factors identified in the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) cholesterol guidelines.

Prevention Is Key to Cardiovascular Health

I have performed a VAP test for the first time on many patients who have already had heart attacks or strokes, or who have undergone heart procedures such as bypass surgery or placement of a coronary stent. The results have often led me to think that if a VAP test had been performed earlier, maybe the heart attack or stroke could have been prevented, or the surgery would not have been necessary.

Too often in the United States, medical care is reactionary. A heart attack or stroke occurs, the sufferer rushes to the emergency room, and then doctors desperately try to rise to the rescue. All the physicians and patients I know appreciate that this is not the best approach. Part of the beauty of the VAP test is that it can help reduce the likelihood of this scenario occurring. Identifying risks for cardiovascular disease — and then working to correct them in order to prevent heart and vascular disease — is a better choice than costly surgical interventions.

Baby boomers, who have taken more hands-on responsibility for their health than any previous generation, can be even more strongly motivated to adopt wellness strategies when they better understand the specific risks facing them. It is one thing to tell patients that their cholesterol is high and they need to reduce it by changing their diet and lifestyle or by taking medication. It is something else to tell them that they can decrease their risk of heart attacks and emergency room visits by implementing strategies to adjust their cholesterol particles. The more definitively a health threat can be identified, the greater the patients’ compliance with treatment will be.

Since the National Cholesterol Education Program recommends people begin regular cholesterol testing at age 20, young adults can take a VAP test to learn about their cardiovascular disease risk early in life. This will allow them to take aggressive steps now — including diet and exercise — to maintain a healthy heart for life. Taking a VAP test now makes infinitely more sense than waiting until a cardiovascular catastrophe occurs, and then wondering if the event might have been prevented if a more complete cholesterol profile had been obtained earlier.

VAP Cholesterol Testing: What You Need to Know

• Cardiovascular disease is America’s number-one cause of premature death. As adults age, their risk for heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular events escalates.
• Cardiovascular risk assessment using conventional lipid panels (measuring LDL, HDL, total cholesterol, and triglycerides) detects only about 40% of those at risk for a cardiovascular event. An advanced form of lipoprotein testing, the Vertical Auto Profile (VAP) cholesterol test, detects far more patients at risk of heart disease. The VAP test measures all the components of a standard lipid profile, as well as all cholesterol subclasses known to contribute to cardiovascular risk.
• The data provided by a VAP test allows physicians to detect cardiovascular risk long before symptoms manifest, and to use this data to develop personalized prevention and treatment protocols for patients of all ages. Early intervention can help prevent costly hospitalizations and invasive surgery later in life.
• All individuals who wish to fully and accurately understand their cardiovascular risk should consider a VAP test. In particular, adults at high risk — due to family history, previously diagnosed cardiovascular disease, or conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, or known lipid abnormalities — should undergo VAP testing.
• The advanced data provided by the VAP test allow doctors and patients to proactively implement strategies to prevent cardiovascular events and mortality.

Should Everyone Take the VAP Test?

This question is still being debated in the medical community. It is more expensive than routine cholesterol panels, but it provides more information. It is simply the best way for physicians to learn more about their patients and identify heart disease risk earlier. As time goes by, more physicians are recognizing the limitations of conventional lipid assessment and turning to advanced lipoprotein testing for better answers.

Certainly anyone who has reason to believe he or she may be at high risk for cardiovascular disease—because of family history, previously diagnosed coronary or vascular disease, or factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, any measure of coronary plaque, or identified abnormalities in cholesterol or triglycerides — should strongly consider VAP testing. Even if you are simply concerned about heart disease, you can proactively encourage your doctor to perform this advanced test. It is now widely available in diagnostic laboratories around the country.

Being proactive means being eager to learn about ways to improve your health, and working with your doctor to create a personalized prevention and treatment plan. However, when it comes to tests that involve risk — such as imaging procedures that deliver radiation — I caution you to be wary. Sometimes, being proactive can lead you down that slippery slope to unnecessary surgical intervention. Fortunately, the VAP test has the distinct advantage of providing added information without added risk.

©2008 Michael Ozner, MD, FACC, FAHA

Author Bio
Michael Ozner, MD, FACC, FAHA, is one of America’s leading advocates for heart disease prevention. Dr. Ozner is a board-certified cardiologist, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and of the American Heart Association, medical director of Wellness & Prevention at Baptist Health South Florida and a well-known regional and national speaker in the field of preventive cardiology. He is the medical director of the Cardiovascular Prevention Institute of South Florida and symposium director for “Cardiovascular Disease Prevention,” an annual international meeting highlighting advances in preventive cardiology. He was the recipient of the 2008 American Heart Association Humanitarian Award. Dr. Ozner is also the author of the BenBella Books title The Miami Mediterranean Diet.

Michael Ozner, Md, Facc, Faha
http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/the-blood-test-that-can-save-your-life-693622.html

Prescription diet drug raises risk of heart attack, stroke
Sibutramine, which alters brain chemicals to suppress appetite, carries risks for users with a history of cardiovascular disease. One doctor says it should be pulled off shelves. The prescription diet drug sibutramine, sold under the brand name Meridia, should be taken off the market because it raises the risk of heart attacks and strokes in some patients, the editor of the New England Journal …

Read more on Los Angeles Times

According to the American Heart Association (www.americanheart.org), in addition to the fact that one out of every two persons will die of heart disease, over 70 million Americans currently have some type of heart disease. (Note: This does not include the tens of millions of people who are in the process of developing heart disease in coming years). The cost of treating heart disease (also know as cardiovascular disease, or CVD), in both direct and indirect costs is estimated to be over $400 billion annually.

Cardiovascular disease results in reduced quality of life, and an enormous cost to both society and taxpayers is avoidable, if only individuals would begin to take more responsibility to prevent heart disease through healthy eating and better lifestyle habits and regular doctor approved exercise. In addition you should consider including the proper use of nutritional supplements such as taking a high quality daily multi-vitamin and getting enough daily Essential Fatty Acids from eating healthy wild Salmon fish (non farmed raised), at least 2 to 3 times weekly and or taking quality fish oil supplements. There are also high quality nutritional supplements and natural enzymes that can help support better circulatory health. (see below)

About Cholesterol

Although, inflammation occurring in the body and high Homocysteine and C-Reactive Protein levels are still your most important tests to determine if you are a likely candidate for a heart attack, (see next week’s blog on those two issues), if your cholesterol is exceedingly high, usually being listed as over 240 mg, then generally those levels should be reduced to a more moderate 200 mg or less level. Remember, cholesterol is necessary for the body and brain to function well and studies have shown that reducing your cholesterol levels too low (less than 160 mg), can actually help shorten your life.

When you visit your doctor for your annual exam, he or she will most likely do a simple blood test to check your cholesterol levels. Do you know what the numbers mean?

First, it must be generally be understood that cholesterol usually can’t be dissolved in the blood, however, certain supplements and natural digestive enzymes: (nattokinase, bromelain), fish oiI, garlic and lecithin may help. (Also, a product called Circulatory Support mentioned at the end may be of aid). Cholesterol generally has to be transported to and from the cells by carriers called lipoproteins. Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is known as “bad” cholesterol. High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is known as “good” cholesterol. These two types of lipids, along with triglycerides, make up your total cholesterol count.

LDL (Bad) Cholesterol

When too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain. Together with other substances, it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can narrow the arteries and make them less flexible. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. If a clot forms and blocks a narrowed artery, heart attack or stroke can result.

HDL (good) Cholesterol

About one-fourth to one-third of blood cholesterol is carried by high-density lipoprotein (HDL). HDL cholesterol is known as “good” cholesterol, because high levels of HDL seem to protect against heart attack. Low levels of HDL (less than 40 mg/dL) also increase the risk of heart disease.

Triglycerides

Triglyceride is a form of fat made in the body. Many people with heart disease and/or diabetes also have high triglyceride levels.

Here are some guidelines from the American Heart Association:

Your Total Blood (or Serum) Cholesterol Level

Less than 200 mg/dL: Desirable

If your LDL, HDL, and triglyceride levels are also at desirable levels and you have no other risk factors for heart disease, total blood cholesterol below 200 mg/dL puts you at relatively low risk of coronary heart disease. Even with a low risk, however, it’s still smart to eat a heart-healthy diet, get regular physical activity and avoid tobacco smoke.

200-239 mg/dL: Borderline-High Risk

If your total cholesterol falls between 200 and 239 mg/dL, your doctor will evaluate your levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, and triglycerides. It’s possible to have borderline-high total cholesterol numbers with normal levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol balanced by high HDL (good) cholesterol.

240 mg/dL and over: High Risk

People who have a total cholesterol level of 240 mg/dL or more typically have twice the risk of coronary heart disease as people whose cholesterol level is desirable (200 mg/dL).

Your LDL (Bad) Cholesterol Level

The lower your LDL cholesterol, the lower your risk of heart attack and stroke. In fact, it’s a better gauge of risk than total blood cholesterol. In general, LDL levels fall into these categories:

LDL Cholesterol Levels

Less than 100 mg/dL Optimal

100 to 129 mg/dL Near Optimal/ Above Optimal

130 to 159 mg/dL Borderline High

160 to 189 mg/dL High

190 mg/dL and above Very High

Your HDL (Good) Cholesterol Level

With HDL (good) cholesterol, higher levels are better. Low HDL cholesterol (less than 40 mg/dL for men, less than 50 mg/dL for women) puts you at higher risk for heart disease.

Smoking, being overweight, and being sedentary can all result in lower HDL cholesterol. To raise your HDL level, avoid tobacco smoke, maintain a healthy weight and get at least 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity more days than not.

People with high blood triglycerides usually also have lower HDL cholesterol and a higher risk of heart attack and stroke.

Your Triglyceride Level

Triglyceride is a form of fat. People with high triglycerides often have a high total cholesterol level, including high LDL (bad) cholesterol and low HDL (good) cholesterol levels.

Your triglyceride level will fall into one of these categories:

• Normal: less than 150 mg/dL

• Borderline-High: 150-199 mg/dL

• High: 200-499 mg/dL

• Very High: 500 mg/dL

Many people have high triglyceride levels due to being overweight/obese, physical inactivity, cigarette smoking, excess alcohol consumption, and/or a diet very high in carbohydrates (60 percent of more of calories).

To help lower cholesterol: eat and live a healthy lifestyle, get regular exercise and work with a knowledgeable nutritionally informed doctor. Also, consider taking a daily quality multi-vitamin and fish oil supplement. Additionally, I have discovered that two excellent circulatory support products are: Circulatory Support and CoQ10 Supreme which are also all part of a 4 product comprehensive Cardio Health Support Package available at http://www.doctorgreens.com Here’s to your better health, Hal Decker

Hal Decker
http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/what-high-cholesterol-blood-tests-mean-how-to-help-prevent-high-cholesterol-736111.html

Are you drinking too much coffee? We seem to need it to wake up in the morning, to stay alert when we drive, and even our work breaks are now referred to as “coffee breaks.” A sign that may indicate that we’re getting a little too carried away is when we have a mug, with a picture of our favorite mug on it. But don’t put your favorite cup away just yet. There’s new evidence suggesting that coffee in moderation can actually be good for you!

New evidence shows that antioxidants are not only in green tea, but are also in coffee. Surprisingly, there’s four times the amount of antioxidants in coffee as what there is in green tea. Of course this doesn’t substitute for the amount of antioxidants that you find in fruits and vegetables. But one to two cups of coffee per day lowers your chances of having cancer and chronic diseases.

Harvard University School of Public Health shows that the risk of Type II diabetes is lower among regular coffee drinkers. Why? It boosts the liver’s ability to break down sugar. Too much sugar that stays in our bodies not only causes us to gain weight, but also weakens muscle strength. And who wants saggy muscles?

Did you know that almonds lower your cholesterol and help to increase your memory? That’s right, a few of those delicious nuts with coffee, and it’s even more of a super memory booster! You actually have an 80% less chance of getting Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s drugs are now being developed with caffeine derivatives for this very reason.

In medicine, caffeine is used as a diuretic (to increase urine) and as a cardiac stimulant. It boosts energy and triggers alertness.

After a large cup of coffee, our muscles tighten up, our heart beats fast and our hands get cold. Coffee stimulates the brain like cocaine and heroin. That’s why it’s so addictive and for the same reason why most of us need it first thing in the morning, to start our day. Once you get into the coffee cycle, you can’t stop. If you try, you get a wicked headache and you start squirming like a snake.

But recent studies reveal that regular coffee drinkers are less likely to contract heart disease. “Until now, we have attributed the cardiovascular effects of coffee to caffeine, but we found non-coffee drinkers given decaffeinated coffee also display these effects,” says Roberto Corti, M.D., a cardiologist at University Hospital in Zurich. Then could there be other ingredients in coffee that are causing the “jitters”? If there is less elevation in blood pressure, could this mean that we are increasing our tolerance to caffeine? Should hypertensive people still drink coffee?

The American Heart Association agrees that there’s a lot of contradiction about caffeine and regular coffee drinkers and the link with cardiovascular disease. If you sit down and calculate how much caffeine you consume in one day, you might be surprised. But could only one or two cups of coffee be harmful for you?

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, there is more risk for a heart attack if a regular coffee drinker carries a gene called cytochrome P450 1A2*1F. This gene metabolizes caffeine slowly. They have decided however, that more research still needs to be done before they can make this conclusion.

Dr. Florian Koppelstatter of the Medical University Innsbruck, in Austria, claims that caffeine boosts brain activity. Vanderbilt University also found coffee to increase blood flow to the brain thereby, preventing degenerative brain diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

Again, maybe there are some good benefits as long as we consume this beverage in moderation. Apparently, adding an extra paper filter in your coffee machine when brewing your coffee, even if you have a plastic filter, helps to lower cholesterol and your blood pressure.

We all know that coffee sometimes prevents constipation. Nothing like that morning brew to get things moving! Some practitioners in alternative health medicine actually suggest doing coffee enemas for bowel cleansing. Myself, I prefer bottoms up to be my cup!

Are we addicted to the coffee or to the lifestyle and habit that we’ve grown into over time? Well at least now we know that there are some healthy benefits.

But can having too much coffee and drinking the brew too late in the day cause insomnia? Without a good night’s sleep, our body can’t replenish itself. Let’s not forget the increased risk of osteoporosis for menopausal women. I think I’ll stick to my martinis and use the coffee grounds for something else.

I heard coffee grounds make good fertilizer in the gardens because they’re high in nitrogen. Use them to fertilize your evergreens, azaleas and rosebushes. Also coffee grounds mixed with orange peels placed around your plants in the garden will keep the cats away. You can even mix some carrot seeds with ground coffee when you sow and pests will stay away. Placing a small container or dish of coffee grounds in the freezer, rids your freezer of spoiled food smells. For you fishermen, coffee grounds mixed with earth will keep your worms wiggly.

Meeting new people and socializing with coffee is one of America’s favorite pastimes. From espressos to café lattes or ice cappuccinos, we keep thinking of new delightful ways to enjoy our quick fix. And now with convenient drive-thru coffee shops, it’s even easier to grab a mug on the go. The coffee places make fabulous meeting places for a quick chat, to play games, or to read the newspaper. Some go alone and others gather in groups. Ironically, we all go out of our way to have something that we can make fast and effortlessly at home.

A man and woman were in the kitchen having a discussion on who should brew the coffee in the morning. She suggested that he do it because he was the first to get up in the morning. “This way you won’t have to wait,” she said. He quickly replied, “You should do it. You usually do the cooking around here.” The wife walked out of the room for a moment and reached for the Bible and opened the New Testament. She pointed to the top of the pages and showed him that indeed it said, “Hebrews. “

So coffee lovers, as long as you drink your coffee in moderation, it doesn’t seem like it will hurt you. It’s apparent that it could benefit you. Studies have shown that coffee has amazing antioxidants, helps persons with bronchial asthma, increases the speed of rapid information, counteracts driver sleepiness, reduces the risk of stone formation and colon cancer, and is even a great source of potassium. Again the key word is moderation, like with everything. Too much of anything is not good.

So java junkies go ahead and drink up! Your coffee fits right in with its cousins tea and cocoa.

Louanne Baelde
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/good-news-for-coffee-lovers-onecup-drinkers-less-likely-to-get-heart-disease-135590.html

Could You be at Risk? American Diabetes Association “Sounds the Alert” on March 25th — ADA’s 20th Annual American Diabetes Alert® Day

Could you have diabetes? One in five Americans have a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, or may even already have diabetes. Because people can live for years without knowing they have diabetes, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) is issuing an urgent call-to-action for Americans to learn their risk for type 2 diabetes during the 20th Annual American Diabetes Alert Day. Awareness about diabetes can lead to early detection and treatment, which may help prevent type 2 diabetes or devastating complications associated with diabetes such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and amputation.

On American Diabetes Alert Day, held annually on the fourth Tuesday in March, the ADA encourages people who are overweight, physically inactive, or over the age of 45 years to take the Diabetes Risk Test, which asks seven simple questions about weight, age, lifestyle and family history – all potential risk factors for type 2 diabetes. People scoring 10 points or more are at a high risk for diabetes and are encouraged to speak with their health care provider. The Diabetes Risk Test, in English or Spanish, is available by calling the Association toll-free at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or by visiting www.diabetes.org/alertnews.

Duration : 0:2:12

Could You be at Risk? American Diabetes Association “Sounds the Alert” on March 25th — ADA’s 20th Annual American Diabetes Alert® Day

Could you have diabetes? One in five Americans have a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, or may even already have diabetes. Because people can live for years without knowing they have diabetes, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) is issuing an urgent call-to-action for Americans to learn their risk for type 2 diabetes during the 20th Annual American Diabetes Alert Day. Awareness about diabetes can lead to early detection and treatment, which may help prevent type 2 diabetes or devastating complications associated with diabetes such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and amputation.

On American Diabetes Alert Day, held annually on the fourth Tuesday in March, the ADA encourages people who are overweight, physically inactive, or over the age of 45 years to take the Diabetes Risk Test, which asks seven simple questions about weight, age, lifestyle and family history – all potential risk factors for type 2 diabetes. People scoring 10 points or more are at a high risk for diabetes and are encouraged to speak with their health care provider. The Diabetes Risk Test, in English or Spanish, is available by calling the Association toll-free at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or by visiting www.diabetes.org/alertnews.

Duration : 0:2:12

One-third of diabetics don’t know that they have the condition. How can you avoid being one of them? Check out this video!Watch More Health Videos at Health Guru: http://www.healthguru.com/?YT

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