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by Steven Lamm, M.D.
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Although we’ve made great strides
in lowering the incidence of
fatalities from cardiovascular disease
with surgery and prompt
treatment, heart disease is still
the leading cause of death in men and women in
the United States, according to the American
Heart Association. As a member of the medical
community for the past 30 years, I have seen scientists
and doctors, myself included, actively
seek a new preventative measure that could ultimately
eliminate this deadly disease.
There are many important facts and misconceptions
that keep us from understanding the
true complexity and scope of this disease.
Cardiovascular disease is an equal opportunity
killer which actually affects more women than
men. This statistic is a shock to many women
nationwide who believe this disease does not
affect them as much as men. The opposite is
true and heart disease strikes six to 10 times
more women than breast cancer or lung cancer.
 In fact, I am starting to notice that one of the
major risk factors of heart disease—plaque build
up that constricts blood vessels—is beginning
during the teenage years in patients as young as
12-years-old. This disproves the misconception
that heart disease affects only our aging population.
It is crucial that we begin planting the
seeds for heart disease prevention early and
increase the level of awareness and education as
often as possible.
The prognosis of heart disease is important
to recognize that early prevention practices are
not only necessary but incredibly helpful to
overall health in general. While maintaining a
healthy heart is the obvious goal—diet, weight
control and exercise are the major factors in
achieving that goal. However, we are learning
that a healthy heart is more complex than we
knew, involving the health of the whole circulatory
system and other factors such as a recent
study on the effect of inflammation and effect of
free radicals.
To prevent this deadly disease, lifestyle
changes are often necessary, regardless of what
age you are. I recommend the following health
conscious regimen to many of my patients.
- Nutrition:
Optimize nutritional choices including incorporating a balance of fruits, vegetables, fiber, dairy and protein into your daily diet. Learn portion control and be conscious of your food choices. Antioxidants in food or dietary supplements, such as E and C, are a good addition to a heart healthy diet.
- Weight control and exercise:
Maintaining a healthy body weight is another absolutely critical path we need to focus on. Exercise is an important activity to incorporate into your daily routine and avoiding risk factors such as smoking and engaging in a healthy lifestyle and learning how to manage anger and stress is important.
These aggressive lifestyle changes can start
working immediately as preventative care to
counteract the risk factors of heart disease. The
more effective you are in reducing these risk factors,
the healthier you will be. Additionally, I
believe we need to go one step beyond the aforementioned
lifestyle changes and enrich our diets
with antioxidant supplements which may be
crucial to our overall health.
For instance Pycnogenol® (pic-noj-en-all) an
antioxidant ingredient which has been
scientifically proven to increase the effect of
vitamin antioxidants in the body. Armed with
this information and rising concerns focused
on heart heath, educated consumers are taking
control of their health care and treatment
options by turning to products like Pycnogenol,
with valid scientific evidence, learning how they
work in the body to combat risk factors of heart
disease.
Pycnogenol is the brand name of a natural
plant extract originating from the bark of the
Maritime pine that grows along the coast of
southwest France. Horphag Research, the company
that produces the extract has invested millions
of dollars in research over the last 30 years,
resulting in 90 published studies and peer
reviewed articles which support and ensure the
safety and efficacy of it as a dietary supplement.
The majority of the research conducted involves
the cardiovascular system, providing solid evidence
that this antioxidant, is powerful in
reducing inflammation in the body, strengthening
the vascular system, lowering high blood
pressure and cholesterol and fighting the
effects of smoking, stress and other environmental
risk factors on the heart.
My experience with Pycnogenol has been
based on much of the research using it as a
blood vessel protector, enhancing the health of
the whole circulatory system, and the results
have been exceptional.
Following research reports published last
year in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, and new research this year, doctors
are suspecting that inflammation can damage
the walls of heart arteries, making them prone
to fat buildups that can lead to heart attacks.
Inflammation in the body is triggered either by
an infection or a health condition, ranging
from arthritis, asthma, stress or even minor
sinus or wound infections, and is much more
serious than we anticipated. Even a small
amount of inflammation left for a long period
of time can have serious consequences and
possibly lead to heart disease.
In addition to the serious effects of inflammation,
the constriction of blood vessels has
the consequence of a higher blood pressure,
another risk factor of heart disease. Various
factors cause blood vessels to constrict, such as
stress, advanced age and cigarette smoking. A
study at the University of South Florida,
Tampa, has discovered that Pycnogenol naturally
counteracts the action of stress hormones
on arteries. While stress hormones like adrenaline
let arteries constrict, Pycnogenol dosedependently
relaxed these blood vessels.
Pycnogenol increases the diameter of blood
vessels, supporting an improved blood flow. In
a placebo-controlled double-blind study, elderly
patients with a history of heart insufficiency
showed increased blood vessel diameter
and improved microcirculation in response to
supplementation with the extract. Hypertension
is just one of the major risk factors which can
be managed by taking it.
The most recent correlation between
Pycnogenol and heart health was a clinical
study published in Lipids by Dr. Kenny Jialal
at the University of Texas, Dallas. After three
and six weeks of daily dosages of 150 mg
supplementation, Dr. Jialal found that
Pycnogenol significantly reduced the
LDL-cholesterol levels (often referred to as
“bad” cholesterol) in the blood, while the
HDL-cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) was
elevated in the participants of this study.
The third risk factor of cardiovascular disease
is increased “stickiness” of blood platelets,
which increases the likelihood that they will
form a blood clot. There are several reasons for
platelets to get more “sticky” including stress,
diabetes, smoking and advanced age in general.
The event of blood clotting in a vessel
(thrombosis) can cut-off tissue from oxygen
supply and may cause heart infarction and
stroke. An incident that causes a rapid and
measurable increased aggregation of blood
platelets (“stickiness”) is smoking. Dr. Ronald
Watson of the University of Arizona showed in
his studies that taking Pycnogenol prevented
the increase of “stickiness” of blood platelets.
This effect has awarded Pycnogenol U.S. patent
(# 5,720,956).
Decades of scientific research has established
the therapeutic benefits of Pycnogenol it
is also recognized as a staple in personal daily
vitamin programs. It is included in hundreds
of dietary supplements, multi-vitamins and
health products worldwide.
Steven Lamm, M.D., nationally known health
expert, is a widely respected medical practitioner
and professor of medicine. Currently, Dr. Lamm
serves as clinical assistant professor of Medicine,
NYU-Bellevue, is a best-selling author and has conducted
several clinical trials. He has over 200 network
appearances discussing health issues.
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