| If you want to learn your chances of suffering a | | | | under the age of 60.)If your C reactive protein is |
| heart attack, ask your doctor to draw blood for | | | | high, you may need to take Zithromax, Dynabec, |
| C-Reactive Protein (CRP), the good HDL and the | | | | or Biaxin for 9 days.If your good HDL is low or |
| bad LDL cholesterol, small low-density lipoprotein, | | | | your triglycerides are high, you need to restrict |
| Lp(a), homocysteine. He will also check your blood | | | | calories and any foods that cause a high rise in |
| pressure.We used to think that heart attacks | | | | blood sugar, such as bakery products, pastas and |
| were caused primarily by plaques accumulating in | | | | sugar-added foods; and eat root vegetables and |
| arteries because of high cholesterol levels. Now | | | | fruits only with other foods, not alone as snacks. |
| we know that the inner lining of an artery must | | | | You may also need to take medications.If your |
| first be roughed up before plaques form, and | | | | bad LDL cholesterol is high, you need to restrict |
| infections are the most common cause of | | | | saturated fats, partially hydrogenated fats and |
| damaged inner linings of arteries. C-Reactive | | | | calories, and you may need to take medication.If |
| Protein is a blood test that measures inflammation | | | | your Lp(a) is greater than 40, you need to take |
| or the swelling that occurs in arteries before | | | | the vitamin niacin after every meal in continually |
| plaques form. So C-reactive protein is one of the | | | | raising doses until your Lp(a) is below 40. Diet will |
| best indicators that a person is headed for a | | | | not lower Lp(a).If your homocysteine is high, you |
| heart attack.Blood cholesterol levels are still good | | | | need to avoid meat and poultry, and eat plenty of |
| predictors of heart attacks. Your bad LDL | | | | whole grains, leafy green vegetables. You can |
| cholesterol should be under 100. If you have had a | | | | meet your needs for vitamin B12 with seafood |
| heart attack, your LDL should be under 70. Having | | | | and skim milk dairy products, or with B 12 pills. If |
| high blood levels of a subfraction of the bad LDL | | | | homocysteine remains above 100, you should |
| cholesterol called small LDL increases your risk for | | | | take folic acid, pyridoxine and B12 (readily available |
| a heart attack.Another test called homocysteine | | | | in combination pills such as Foltex or Fol-B.)A |
| also predicts heart attacks. When your diet does | | | | heart-healthy diet and lifestyle makes it possible |
| not provide you with adequate amounts of the | | | | for most people to control cholesterol and blood |
| vitamins B12, pyridoxine and folic acid, blood levels | | | | pressure without drugs.Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a |
| of homocysteine rise, damaging the walls of the | | | | radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing |
| arteries and causing plaques to form.Lp(a) is a | | | | physician for more than 40 years; he is board |
| genetic disorder that causes clots to form and so | | | | certified in four specialties, including sports |
| is a cause of heart attacks, particularly in younger | | | | medicine. |
| people (men under the age of 40 and women | | | | |