ASK THE DOCTOR
by Dr. Chad Larson

Emerging Risk Factors from the ongoing
Framingham Heart Study
One out of three people will die of heart disease, currently one American life every 36 seconds. Heart disease has been the #1 killer in the United States for almost 100 years. In fact, without the flu pandemic of 1918 (which killed 500,000 people), heart disease would be the number one killer for well over 100 years.
The current medical intervention for advanced coronary diseases includes balloon angioplasty, bypass surgery, heart transplant, and cardiac catheterization, all extremely traumatic and expensive procedures and all symptom management.
The good news is that advances in functional medicine laboratory testing have allowed us to discover important early indicators that can significantly change the direction of therapeutic treatment and make it possible to stop a disease process before it starts.
Investigators from the nearly 60-year-long ongoing Framingham Heart Study indicate that high levels of the amino acid homocysteine may contribute to heart disease, stroke, and a reduced flow of blood to the hands and feet. Researchers believe that homocysteine may contribute to the buildup of fatty substances in the arteries, increase the stickiness of blood platelets (clotting), and make blood vessels less flexible, and less able to widen to allow increased blood flow.  
Levels of this amino acid are related partly to a genetic mechanism and to diet. The good news is that diet, especially one high in folic acid and B vitamins, favorably affects the levels of homocysteine. Diets high in vegetables (especially green leafy vegetables and beans) and low in animal protein have been shown to reduce levels of homocysteine. If needed, also consider taking vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid in supplement form to further reduce serum homocysteine levels.
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