How to Really Prevent a Heart Attack

More and more, research is revealing the limits of drugs when it comes to reducing the risk for death from heart attack, stroke and conditions of the heart and blood vessels. The ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) study, for instance, which released its findings this past summer, found that more medication was not the answer as far as lowering heart attack risks in people with diabetes. (People with Type 2 diabetes are two to four times more likely to die of heart disease or stroke than adults without diabetes.)

The study found that raising drug dosages to lower blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and triglycerides to near-normal levels provided no additional benefits in terms of reducing cardiovascular deaths. With those disappointing results, even the study’s researchers emphasized the necessity of lifestyle changes as an important and cost-efficient way of lowering health risks.

We all know the obvious ways to prevent a heart attack: don’t smoke, exercise and lose weight. But there are other things, just as important, that can cut your risk even further. Youcan stop heart disease. Here are 9 nutritional supplements that can help:

1. Take 1 to 3 grams a day of fish oil. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish oil and krill oil, have consistently been shown to improve heart health and reduce the risk of heart arrhythmia, heart attack and sudden death. According to one analysis, consuming dietary fish oil or taking fish oil supplements is associated with a 23% reduction in overall mortality and a 32% reduction in death from cardiovascular causes in people with or without cardiovascular disease. Another analysis of studies of people with heart disease associated fish oil from fish or supplements with a 16% reduction in overall mortality and a 24% reduction in death due to heart attacks.

Omega-3 fatty acids have a long list of cardiovascular benefits: they make your blood less thick and sticky, they help keep blood vessels dilated and keep endothelial cells lining your blood vessels healthy; they have a cell membrane-stabilizing effect and help regulate the flux of electrolytes like calcium, sodium and potassium in and out of cells. This is one reason they help normalize heart rhythm.

2. Take 15 grams of psyllium a day. This soluble fiber reduces total and LDL cholesterol and can boost the effects of statin drugs. In one study, people who took 10 mg of psyllium plus 10 mg of Zocor, a statin drug, were compared to people taking 20 mg of Zocor plus a placebo. In the psyllium group, LDL fell by 63%, compared with 55% in the statin-only group.

3. Take 2,400 mg a day of red yeast rice. Red yeast rice contains a substance — monacolin K — that is identical to the active ingredient in the cholesterol-lowering statin drug Mevacor, and has been shown to lower cholesterol and improve blood flow — with fewer side effects than statin drugs.

Get a proven formulation of red yeast rice and work with your doctor. Recheck cholesterol levels in two months. Don’t take red rice yeast rice and statin drugs at the same time, but doalso take CoQ10. Red yeast rice should not be used by people with liver disease.

4. Take 300 to 500 mg a day of green tea extract. A staple in Chinese traditional medicine,green tea extract has been shown to decrease LDL cholesterol by as much as by 16%. Other studies have found that green tea extract can improve blood flow in arteries. Green tea is a powerful antioxidant. Plus, it contains L-theanine, a natural relaxant that helps shield your heart from stress.

5. Take 100-300 mg a day of CoQ10. Its benefits in the prevention and treatment of heart disease are due to its ability to improve energy production in cells, inhibit blood clot formation, and act as an antioxidant. One important study found that people who took daily CoQ10supplements within three days of a heart attack were significantly less likely to experience subsequent heart attacks and chest pain. They were also less likely to die of heart disease than those who did not receive the supplements.

CoQ10 is also helpful in people with congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, diabetes, and those taking statin drugs, which deplete CoQ10. Giving CoQ10 prior to bypass surgery and heart transplantation can reduce damage caused by free radicals, strengthen heart function, and lower the incidence of irregular heart beat during the recovery phase.

6. Take 1,500-2,000 mg. a day of plant sterols (phytosterols). These plant compounds block cholesterol absorption and can lower LDL cholesterol by about 10%. Phytosterols also work well with statins and can be more effective at lowering cholesterol than doubling a statin dose.

7. Take 20 mg a day of policosanol. This waxy plant compound works by helping the liver control its production and breakdown of cholesterol. Studies show that policosanol is as effective as prescription drugs at lowering cholesterol, without side effects. In one study of people with diabetes, policosanol lowered total cholesterol by 14%, LDL cholesterol 20%, and even raised the levels of HDL cholesterol by 7.5%!

8. Take 400-500 mg a day of magnesium. Low magnesium occurs in up to 40% of people with type 2 diabetes, and is linked to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, angina, even sudden death from heart arrhythmia. Magnesium deficiency can be induced by the very drugs meant to help heart problems — digitalis and some types of diuretics. And it is often at the bottom of refractory potassium deficiency, where your body is unable to maintain adequate potassium levels because of magnesium deficiency. Lots of doctors are also unaware that low vitamin D levels impair the body’s absorption of magnesium.

9. Take at least 2,000 IU a day of vitamin D. Low blood levels of vitamin D increase your risk for coronary artery disease, and may even help calcium to deposit in arteries, which contributes to hardening of the arteries. If you take supplemental calcium, it’s important to also take vitamin D to protect your blood vessels. Also note that what has long been considered a normal blood level of vitamin D is now known to be less-than-optimal. Take a dosage of vitamin D that keeps your blood levels between 40-60 ng/mL of 25-hydroxyvitamin D.