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New guidelines issued this year say a test for inflammation in the blood vessels may help doctors decide whether patients who have other risk factors for heart attack or stroke need preventative treatment.

A growing body of medical evidence suggests that painless inflammation in the blood vessels may cause heart trouble and may be more dangerous than high cholesterol. Until now, doctors have had no formal guidelines to tell them how or when to look for inflammation, which can be measured with a simple blood test. The inflammation is thought to bring on heart attacks by weakening the walls of diseased blood vessels. This inflammation can be measured with a blood test that checks for C-reactive protein or CRP. This simple blood test costs around $50.00 in our area.

Much of the evidence backing the importance of inflammation in heart disease comes from the researcher Dr. Paul Ridker of Brigham and Women's hospital in Boston. One of Dr. Ridker's latest studies, conducted with women, found that half of all heart attacks and strokes occur in women with seemingly safe cholesterol levels. Those with high CRP levels had double the risk of women with low levels. C-reactive protein can be lowered by the same methods that bring down cholesterol: exercising, losing weight, giving up smoking, taking targetes vitamins and herbs or in advanced cases using statin drugs.

The guidelines urged against testing people that had very low-risk, since those patients probably would not be put on drug treatment even if inflammation were found. They also recommended not testing those who already have a diagnosis of heart disease, since they should be already receiving standard drug treatments.

Dr. Eric Topol, cardiology chief of the Cleveland Clinic, called these guidelines "a dramatic advance" but said he wished they recommended testing for everyone at intermediate or high risk. "In medicine, advances and changes in practice come slowly, unfortunately, so this set of recommendations is typical of a burgeoning field where the evidence overrides the ability of a group of experts to come to consensus", Dr. Topol said.

I agree with Dr. Topol. I'm currently recommending to all my patients 30 years and older that have cardiac risk factors (family history of heart disease, overweight, low aerobic capasity, poor diet, etc...) to be tested for CRP, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. These and other simple tests to identify the early warning signs of heart disease can set the patient on the road to prevention. After all, is it not better to prevent disease than to treat an existing disease that could have been prevented?

Lee Hazen is the Director of Chiropractic Works in Wildomar. He can be reached at 951-609-0399.


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Back Talk By Lee Hazen, DC New guidelines issued this year say a test for inflammation in the blood vessels may help doctors decide whether patients who have other risk factors for heart attack or stroke need preventative treatment. A growing body of medical evidence suggests that painless inflammation in the blood vessels may cause heart trouble and may be more dangerous than high cholesterol. Until now, doctors have had no formal guidelines to tell them how or when to look for inflammation, which can be measured with a simple blood test. The inflammation is thought to bring on heart attacks by weakening the walls of diseased blood vessels. This inflammation can be measured with a blood test that checks for C-reactive protein or CRP. This simple blood test costs around $50.00 in our area. Much of the evidence backing the importance of inflammation in heart disease comes from the researcher Dr. Paul Ridker of Brigham and Women's hospital in Boston. One of Dr. Ridker's latest studies, conducted with women, found that half of all heart attacks and strokes occur in women with seemingly safe cholesterol levels. Those with high CRP levels had double the risk of women with low levels. C-reactive protein can be lowered by the same methods that bring down cholesterol: exercising, losing weight, giving up smoking, taking targetes vitamins and herbs or in advanced cases using statin drugs. The guidelines urged against testing people that had very low-risk, since those patients probably would not be put on drug treatment even if inflammation were found. They also recommended not testing those who already have a diagnosis of heart disease, since they should be already receiving standard drug treatments. Dr. Eric Topol, cardiology chief of the Cleveland Clinic, called these guidelines "a dramatic advance" but said he wished they recommended testing for everyone at intermediate or high risk. "In medicine, advances and changes in practice come slowly, unfortunately, so this set of recommendations is typical of a burgeoning field where the evidence overrides the ability of a group of experts to come to consensus", Dr. Topol said. I agree with Dr. Topol. I'm currently recommending to all my patients 30 years and older that have cardiac risk factors (family history of heart disease, overweight, low aerobic capasity, poor diet, etc...) to be tested for CRP, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. These and other simple tests to identify the early warning signs of heart disease can set the patient on the road to prevention. After all, is it not better to prevent disease than to treat an existing disease that could have been prevented? Lee Hazen is the Director of Chiropractic Works in Wildomar. He can be reached at 951-609-0399.