Human Heart Cleaner keeps Circulation Flowing

Prevent Young Women's Heart Disease Striking

I was shocked to discover a kind of heart attack that strikes over 90% women... and over the years, they've been misdiagnosed. Not only that but the average age of the women is 42. Teenagers are not exempt either.

While we seem to go about our lives believing heart disease is an older person's illness and if we stay fit and eat healthily we'll dodge such a pain in the heart. Although, again the reality proves different to our perception. In fact, sufferers from a heart attack called spontaneous coronary artery dissection, or SCAD for short, are seen to be otherwise fit and healthy.

Cardiologist Dr Sharonne Hayes, a SCAD researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, explains, "SCAD is happening to a group of women who appear healthy, are thin, and have no risk factors. So even though they have classic heart attack symptoms, they are often being misdiagnosed," it is "a cause of heart attacks among younger people, and it has really only been in the past 4 or 5 years that our thinking on it has changed. For the past 100 years, we had been missing it."

For the simple reason that the standard testing to diagnose a heart attack will not show SCAD, the patients are often sent home. SCAD can only be diagnosed with an X-ray that takes pictures of blood flow in the artery (an angiogram). This will show the problem which is this...

...It starts with a tear in an artery. Your blood fills the tear and creates a split between two layers of the wall. It begins to clot. But as the tear gets bigger, it begins to fold inwards and blocks the artery. Ultimately, your blood flow is prevented to the heart, which leads to an attack.

Now I'm wondering why this happens to us and how to prevent it.

In order to get some answers, I search for the latest research and found this year's Mayo Clinic SCAD Research Program Presentation. Their examination has uncovered some interesting ideas... our hormones could be involved. More precisely, a drop in hormones. Patients have reported symptoms a few days before their menstrual cycle. Plus, SCAD events are more likely to strike within the first month after having a baby. During both times our hormones crash - a coincidence? Who knows at the moment.

Plus, 40% of the cases have a history of enduring migraines. And of these women, they tend to be younger, experience depression, and have repeated chest pain.

Also, this heart disease is linked to fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD). Around half SCAD victims suffer this disease that causes cells to grow abnormally in artery walls.

Even more, there are other symptoms to help you spot an attack; unusual upper body pain or discomfort in arms, back, shoulders, neck, jaw, or upper part of the stomach. Shortness of breath. Nausea or vomiting. Fatigue that may go on for days. Cold sweats, lightheaded or dizziness...

...Above all, should you experience these signs, obviously seek help. But also be prepared to ask if it is spontaneous coronary artery dissection because, at present, most doctors are unfamiliar with the disease. So, we need to make this disease better known within our communities and understand that normal tests are useless... you might find yourself educating a doctor and save you being sent home undiagnosed.

As long as the research continues, we'll one day find out the reasons why this is happening. In any case, we do know the disease involves the lining of arteries. And like other heart diseases, your endothelium needs protecting.

The one thing you can do, because researchers believe after multiple studies and reviews, is to take a nutrient that protects the lining of the artery wall and relieves dysfunction. Not only that but it is a very powerful antioxidant we have to eat... it is essential to your health. What's more is it has been proven to reduce the thickening plaque in the artery walls that, if left unchecked, could lead to a heart attack. It also helps your arteries dilate under stress to improve flow and enhances oxygen carrying ability.

Plus, it protects your LDL-cholesterol from oxidation by neutralising the free radicals in your bloodstream that can damage it.

Interestingly, most other mammals make this nutrient in their body

Primates, including us, and Guinea pigs do not have the ability so we have to eat it, and yet, we're not getting anywhere near enough. When you look at how much a 70 kg (11 stone) goat makes per day, 13,000 mg, or a 30 kg (4 stone 7 pounds) dog, 2,500 mg, and compare it to our recommended daily intake of 100-200 mg per day, you have to question if that's enough...

...especially when high blood concentrations of this nutrient from eating fruits and vegetables was linked to a 15 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease. And notably, a daily 500 mg dose lowers concentrations of C-reactive protein, or CRP, in their blood. In the last decade, CRP has been accepted as a "powerful predictor" of heart disease and diabetes.

In 2003, Harvard Medical School published an observational study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that looked at 85,000 female nurses for 16 years. The results showed that women who supplemented this nutrient reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease by 28 percent.

Going back to the animal kingdom, it does seem to be, the more you can make the better your health. It's been demonstrated that when a goat is sick, it will increase production from 13,000 mg up to 100,000 mg daily. Incidentally, zoologists have developed nutritional guidelines for feeding monkies kept in captivity to make sure they consume enough of this nutrient because they cannot make it, and they've found 55 mg per kg is about the right amount for optimal health.

In that case, it could mean a 70 kg (11 stone) person might need 4,000 mg per day for optimal health.

So, what is this nutrient? It's Vitamin C (ascorbic acid). And one of the reasons you have to take it daily, other than you cannot make it in your body and to prevent scurvy, is because vitamin C is water soluble and can't be stored in your body. It can be somewhat recycled, but in the end, it is excreted.

On the whole, vitamin C is a very important nutrient that we must consume... a minimum of 100-200 mg per day to prevent scurvy and maybe a damn sight more to help prevent heart disease. In any case, it's always best to consult with your doctor before mixing the ascorbic acid powder into your diet.