When a person has a heart attack, it is often described as
"coming out of nowhere."
People have been known to say things like, "One minute Joe
was fine and the next minute he had dropped dead of a heart
attack."
But heart attacks don't come out of nowhere. And just
before you have one, you aren't fine.
They're created over a long period of time--many are 30
years or more in the making.
To see if you happen to be constructing one yourself,
let's take a look at what I call the anatomy of a heart
attack:
Stage 1: A bit of artery wall damage
===========================
Just like other objects and structures, your arteries
endure normal "wear and tear." There are often signs of
minor abrasions in the arteries of people as young as 20.
But damage is also caused by high blood pressure. With
high blood pressure, your blood flows through your arteries
more forcefully, like squirting water from a power hose.
This repeated force over time can cause serious damage to
the walls of your arteries.
Stage 2: Inflammation
=================
Once an artery becomes damaged, it sounds the alarm for
your body's repair system, which is made up of platelets
and white blood cells.
While these substances are designed to promote healing, if
the damage continues, they "go overboard" and instead lead
to inflammation (hot spots) in your arteries.
Stage 3: Enter cholesterol
=====================
The pockets of inflammation in your arteries are the
perfect spot for cholesterol buildup.
It starts when LDL (bad) cholesterol is transported inside
special white blood cells called macrophages through your
arteries and is "dropped off" at the hot spots of
inflammation.
Stage 4: Plaque buildup
===================
This is where serious amounts of oxidized LDL cholesterol
have begun accumulating along the walls of your arteries.
The danger is having a "clog" so big that it constricts or
blocks a critical coronary artery.
The more LDL cholesterol you have flowing in your
bloodstream, the more raw materials are available for
oxidation and the greater your chances of life-threatening
plaque buildup.
Stage 5: Blockage of a coronary artery
==============================
This is where your coronary arteries are so clogged with
plaque that they're squeezing off the blood supply to your
heart. All that's needed for a heart attack now is for a
blood clot to close off an already-constricted artery.
This can happen easily now. Plaque deposits can burst and
spew their debris into your bloodstream, and this triggers
the formation of blood clots.
Stage 6: The completed process
=========================
Once a blood clot finds its way to a clogged coronary
artery and completely shuts it off, you officially have a
heart attack.
You have about a 3 out of 5 chance of surviving a heart
attack--whether or not you live to tell about it depends on
how your heart reacts.
If your heart starts to beat uncontrollably (called
malignant arrhythmia) the chances of survival are slim.
=============
How to prevent it
=============
While the process I've just described is rather grim, it's
also VERY preventable.
Omega-3 fatty acids have shown in the real world to be an
important tool to help prevent heart attacks through every
stage mentioned above:
1) They've been medically proven to help lower blood
pressure. Studies show that daily fish oil supplementation
alone can lower your systolic (the top number) pressure by
five points or more and your diastolic (the bottom number)
pressure by three points or more.
This will help prevent the arterial damage from high blood
pressure in Stage 1.
2) Omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties,
just like prescription anti-inflammatories. But they're
far more stomach-friendly.
3) Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce dangerous LDL
cholesterol.
Less LDL in your bloodstream means less plaque build-up
along your artery walls like I described in Stage 3.
4) Omega-3 fatty acids help raise HDL (good) cholesterol
levels.
HDL cholesterol acts like a police officer in your
bloodstream, hunting down LDL cholesterol. As it
circulates through your arteries it scoops up LDL
cholesterol and transports it to your liver. Your liver
then degrades it into less harmful byproducts.
So the more HDL "cops" you have in your bloodstream, the
less oxidized LDL you have. This helps prevent the plaque
buildup discussed in Stage 4.
5) Omega-3 fatty acids help keep blood clots from forming
by reducing the stickiness in your platelets and curbing
the production of fibrinogens--protein strands that can get
tangled up with platelets and result in a clot.
This decreases the chances of a complete blockage like I
mentioned in Stage 5.
6) And most importantly, if you've reached the crucial
moment where whether or not you survive depends on your
heart's reaction, Omega-3 fatty acids can help by
stabilizing your heartbeat and preventing arrhythmia.
Since most people in developed countries are seriously
lacking in Omega-3 fatty acids, one of the best ways to
prevent a heart attack (or halt the process if you've gone
through some of the steps already) is to take a very high-
quality fish oil supplement.
The suggested 2-capsule daily serving packs a whopping
1,200 mg. of EPA, DHA and other Omega-3 fatty acids in the
same pure, potent form you'd get directly from fish itself.
And here's the best part: Unlike ulcer-causing anti-
inflammatories, or dangerous statins and high blood
pressure medications from big pharma, Omega-3 fatty acids
are all natural, safe and tremendously GOOD for you.
Let VitalMega-3 help YOU avoid being a heart attack
statistic.
PS: Heart attack prevention also means eating a healthy
diet that encourages an alkaline pH. Following my advice
in Great Taste No Pain makes this a cinch for you, and my
recipes are the bomb! Learn more about Great Taste No Pain
here at:
- http://www.greattastenopain.com/great.asp
**The FDA has not evaluated all of these statements. The
contents of this email are not to be considered medical
advice and are for educational purposes only. If you are
experiencing health challenges, always consult your doctor
for medical advice and follow it even if it contradicts the
contents of this email.**
