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Chapter 0
Preliminary

0.1  Original table of contents

• Chapter 1 - A Journey of the Heart
  • Dad's Heart Attack
  • Shadowing Dr. Swank
  • Zebras and Chickens
  • Bypass Surgery
  • Mr. Fan Has a Heart Attack
• Chapter 2 - Atherosclerosis, the Silent Killer
  • Our current (dysfunctional) approach to vascular disease
  • A shift of consciousness is required
  • Rethinking atherosclerosis, the "Number One Killer"
• Chapter 3 - Five Case Studies
  • Hal
  • Celeste
  • Art
  • Jake
  • Chip
• Chapter 4 - An Epidemic of Staggering Proportions
  • This is an epidemic
  • Our outmoded system
  • A new approach
  • The six heart markers
  • Additional markers
  • Risk markers versus risk factors
• Chapter 5 - Atherogenesis: How Arteries Fail
  • Atherosclerosis starts early and develops gradually
  • Anatomy of an artery
  • Phase one: Endothelial injury
  • Causes of endothelial dysfunction
  • Preventing endothelial damage
  • Phase two: plaque formation
  • Phase three: thrombus formation, rupture, and disaster
• Chapter 6 - Get Tested and Design Your Personal Program
  • The cardiovascular risk marker panel
  • Additional risk markers for cardiovascular disease
  • How and where to get tested
  • Insurance coverage and low-cost testing
  • When your results come back
  • Interpret your test results and design your program
  • Follow-up testing is crucial to your success

• Chapter 7 - The Lipid Panel: Cholesterol, LDL, Triglycerides, HDL, VLDL
  • Lipoproteins
  • Components of a Lipid Panel
  • Cholesterol: Good or evil?
  • Cholesterol's image problem
  • Where does Cholesterol come from?
  • Cholesterol transport into the cell
  • Cholesterol: a weak marker for atherosclerotic disease
  • LDL: Little Balls of Fat
  • Why LDL is important: the Cholesterol-atherosclerosis connection
  • Oxidized LDL-the real culprit
  • Size matters too
  • Exceptionally dangerous: unstable plaque
  • What's an ideal Cholesterol and LDL level?
  • Lowering Cholesterol works
  • Keeping Cholesterol and LDL in perspective
  • How to lower your Cholesterol and LDL
  • Triglycerides: Your Fat Transport System
  • What is a Triglyceride?
  • The importance of Triglycerides
  • How to Lower Your Triglyceride Level
  • HDL What are HDL particles and what do they do?
  • Why is a high HDL level so important?
  • HDL protects against atherosclerosis by depriving macrophages of their lunch
  • Some recent research revelations about HDL
  • How to Boost Your HDL Level
  • Recommended program for raising HDL
  • VLDL
  • How to Lower Your VLDL Level
• Chapter 8 - C-Reactive Protein: The Fire Alarm Molecule
  • What is CRP?
  • Common causes of inflammation
  • An innocent bystander or a smoking gun?
  • What is a normal CRP?
  • How to lower your elevated C-Reactive Protein
• Chapter 9 - Homocysteine: Sandblaster from Hell
  • Chuck has a busy week
  • What is Homocysteine?
  • Many diseases are associated with excess Homocysteine
  • Widespread damage
  • Where does homocysteine come from?
  • Misunderstood by mainstream doctors
  • Checking Homocysteine saves lives
  • Lowering Chuck's elevated Homocysteine
  • What is optimum?
  • Homocysteine: poster child for a flawed approach to cardiovascular disease
  • How to lower your elevated Homocysteine
• Chapter 10 - Fibrinogen: Clotting Factor and Inflammatory Protein
  • An elevated Fibrinogen both predicts and causes cardiovascular disease
  • Not an innocent bystander
  • Brent Chadwick: an attorney with an elevated Fibrinogen level
  • Fibrinogen plays major roles in inflammation management and clot formation
  • Excess Fibrinogen causes clots and thrombi
  • Fibrinogen manages inflammation, warns of inflammation ... and causes it!
  • If Fibrinogen is elevated, test more than once
  • High Fibrinogen is especially dangerous when any other heart marker is elevated
  • Lowering your elevated Fibrinogen
• Chapter 11 - Blood Sugar, Insulin Resistance, and The Metabolic Syndrome
  • "Please calm down, Mr. Shoemaker."
  • TMS: not a rare condition
  • As we get older TMS will affect most of us
  • Why should I care if my blood sugar is elevated?
  • How can I tell whether I have TMS? The five cardinal signs of The Metabolic Syndrome
  • The "disease of the new millennium"
  • Insulin Resistance: the driving force behind TMS
  • Most people can reverse TMS by lowering carb consumption and exercising every day
  • How to reverse Insulin Resistance and The Metabolic Syndrome
• Chapter 12 - LDL Particle Size: A Few Nanometers Can Spell the Difference between Life and Death
  • LDL Particle Size
  • Bigger is better and small is not beautiful
  • Can a billionth of a meter change your life?
  • Pattern "A" is "Alright" but Pattern "B" is "Bad"
  • Pattern "B" more easily oxidized
  • Don't confuse LDL particle size with LDL number
  • Testing for LDL Particle Size
  • The Triglyceride/HDL shortcut
  • How to increase LDL Particle Size (and move from Bad Pattern "B" to All right Pattern "A")

     Final Thoughts

     About the Author

     Contact Information

     Product Information

     References

     This book is intended as a reference volume only, not as a medical manual. The information given here is designed to help you make informed decisions about your health. It is not intended as a substitute for any treatment that may have been prescribed by your doctor. If you suspect that you have a medical problem, we urge you to seek competent medical help.

0.2  Front page

"About three quarters of the population of the USA older than 30 years has some lesion related to atherosclerosis in the arterial tree. This lesion gets worse almost every day in all these people and will eventually result in closure of a vital artery in half of them, causing their death."

William P. Castelli, M.D.

Director, Framingham Heart Study