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Estimating Heart Attack Risk with Framingham Risk Score
Judi was 68. Her doctor wanted to put her on statins because of her age and an LDL cholesterol value of 168. Her doctor also calculated her Framingham Risk Score, and she got 6.4%. That means she had a 6.4% probability of getting a heart attack, stroke, or any cardiovascular...
6 Ways Seniors Can Reduce Financial Pressure and Stress
Are you stressed about making ends meet or meeting financial obligations in retirement? If so, you need to know that you are not alone—and you don’t have to feel ashamed. Many seniors struggle with finances in retirement. This means many people just like you are also stressed...
Stress Tests, Cardiac Cath & Stents: The “Unnecessary” Triad
A positive stress test result means you may have a heart condition. Something that you may not like. If you then have a positive stress test, you’ll likely be led to the catheter lab for a coronary angiogram. The procedure usually detects atherosclerotic plaque, does not...
Reversal of Coronary Calcium Score – Gerry’s Story
One of my patients named Gerry has a very interesting story to tell. He makes a good case for reversing calcium score. Due to a family history, Gerry had been watching his health markers for 35 years. Gerry is also very good at developing information and demonstrating it. He...
How Does Inflammation Cause Cardiovascular Disease?
The immune system is involved with the body’s process of injury repair. It kills, digests, and removes pathogens. Ironically, the immune system also creates inflammation while protecting and healing the body. It can attack body tissues if it doesn’t recognize them or if body...
Reducing Arterial Plaque – Is It Possible?
A Harvard Health Letter (2019) publication says it's indeed possible. It’s a great article, although I don't agree with every view this article said about arterial plaque. Here’s one quote: Making plaque disappear is not possible... I do agree with this. While you can't make...
What a Stress Test Can (and Can’t) Tell You
Plaque in arteries causes bad things. It causes heart attacks, the #1 cause of death (CDC, “Heart Disease Facts,” 2020). It causes strokes, the #1 cause of permanent disability (CDC, “Stroke Facts,” 2020). Scientists also continue to debate the linkage between plaque and...
Is Saturated Fat Unhealthy? Is It a Big Fat Surprise, Big Fat Lies, or Just Confusion?
In our YouTube Live event on July 1, 2020, we discussed both Nina Teicholz's book "The Big Fat Surprise" and an article recently published in JACC (Journal of the American College of Cardiology). It was Dave Murphy who got me started on this when he brought this JACC article to...
How To Prevent Stroke & Manage Atrial Fibrillation
Every 40 seconds, someone in the US has a stroke. Every 4 minutes, someone dies from this condition. That’s not all. Here are the other stroke statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2020): In 2018, 1 in 6 deaths from cardiovascular disease was...