Heart Health and Cholesterol

Maintaining good heart and blood vessel health is important for everyday life, as well as protecting against heart disease in the future

Cardiovascular or heart disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide and is in fact an umbrella term for all conditions affecting the heart muscle and blood vessels. Specific cardiovascular disease includes conditions such as:

Symptoms

Symptoms of cardiovascular disease include:

• Fatigue
• Dizziness or light-headedness
• Increased heart rate (more than 100 beats per minute)
• Abnormal irregular heartbeat
• Chest pain or discomfort during activity that goes away with rest
• Difficulty breathing
• A chest infection or cough that worsens
• Restlessness or confusion
• Disturbed sleep patterns
• Reduced appetite or nausea

Causes

Cardiovascular disease is now understood to be largely preventable and in most cases cardiovascular conditions can be completely prevented or significantly reduced with a healthy diet and active lifestyle. There are a number of factors that contribute to an increased risk of heart disease, including:

• Smoking
• Being physically inactive
• Being overweight or obese
• Diabetes
• Family history of heart disease
• Ethnic background
• Gender – men are more likely to develop CVD at an earlier age than women
• Age – the older you are, the more likely you are to develop CVD
• High blood pressure
• High blood cholesterol
• Stress
• Alcohol consumption
• Inflammation

Although it is not possible to control some of these factors, most can be manipulated to significantly reduce the likelihood of developing CVD. For those with a family history of CVD or an inherited CVD condition, it is still possible to reduce the severity and mortality risk associated with your condition by following the same risk reduction advice as for people wishing to prevent CVD altogether. If you are unsure of what is best for you to do in order to reduce your risk of having a CVD event, seek help from your GP or healthcare practitioner.

In order to reduce your risk of CVD it is recommended that you:

• Exercise (increase your heart rate for 20 minute 5 times per week)
• Lose weight (BMI of below 24 or a body fat % of less than 24% for men and 30% for women)
• Reduce stress
• Stop smoking
• Eat a healthy and balanced diet

Omega 3's

The overwhelming evidence for the benefits of omega-3s means that supplementing with omega-3s is an important addition to a healthy diet for anyone wishing to reduce their risk of heart disease

It is now recognised that some of the cardioprotective benefits associated with fish oil relate specifically to EPA, as EPA is not only effective in reducing elevated triglyceride levels but it also reduces inflammation and, unlike DHA, has favourable effects on total cholesterol (DHA supplements can increase LDL cholesterol).

The benefits of EPA in cardiovascular health management also extend to the prevention of secondary cardiovascular events. Individuals who have had a previous heart attack can significantly reduce their chances of experiencing further ‘events’ by supplementing daily with 1-2g EPA.

Homocysteine

Elevated levels of circulating total homocysteine are a well-documented risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. Decreasing homocysteine levels in the blood directly reduces risk of both myocardial infarction and stroke. A rise in homocysteine levels of just 5 mmol/L increases the risk of coronary heart disease by approximately 20%. Levels of homocysteine in the blood are directly influenced by levels of the B vitamins folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 and low levels of these vitamins directly contribute to elevated homocysteine.

The role of homocysteine in the development of CVD is not fully understood, although it is well established that homocysteine plays a role in increasing damage and cell death of cells lining the blood vessels. Homocysteine also appears to contribute to the development of atherosclerosis via a number of mechanisms, including:

• Reduced vessel relaxation
• Increased vessel wall inflammation
• Increased oxidative stress-induced cell damage
• Increased expression of genes that switch on cell death

Homocysteine is also thought to contribute indirectly to cellular stress, which may worsen already altered cholesterol and triglyceride levels, further contributing to CVD risk. In addition, homocysteine appears to increase blood thickness and thus promote blood clot formation.

Supplementing with the B vitamins needed to efficiently recycle homocysteine back into its health-promoting products has been shown to reduce homocysteine levels and can thereby help reduce associated health risks

Coenzyme Q10

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a natural antioxidant synthesised by the body from the same molecules used to make cholesterol. CoQ10 is also consumed in the diet by eating animal protein and some seed and nut oils, but dietary consumption contributes only a low amount to total CoQ10 unless organ meats are regularly consumed. CoQ10 is also available as a supplement, where it comes in two forms: ubiquinol, the active antioxidant form, and ubiquinone, the oxidised form, which the body converts to ubiquinol.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is essential for energy production (in the form of ATP) and is heavily involved in heart function – in particular, heart muscle contraction and the movement of important molecules into the heart cells (through ATP dependent channels). The heart is particularly sensitive to low CoQ10 levels and the subsequent reduction in energy production capacity – a factor considered to contribute to heart disease. Consistently low levels of CoQ10 are observed in CVD patients and increasing intake of this nutrient may help protect against cardiovascular events.

CoQ10, in its ubiquinol form, is a powerful antioxidant that also plays an important role in regenerating other antioxidants, including vitamin E, vitamin C and lipoic acid. Its ability to quench free radicals helps to protect against cell damage and reduce oxygen damage to fat molecules such as cholesterol. LDL oxidation is an important contributor to the development of atherosclerosis.

Supplementing with CoQ10 in the form of ubiquinol will help replenish any deficiencies in CoQ10 observed in CVD patients, statin users and older people and offers a number of potential protective effects to help support cardiovascular health.