Cardiovascular Health
Getting to the Heart of Cardiovascular Health
Poor cardiovascular health is one of our nation’s biggest health problems and is a risk factor in a wide range of health issues.
- Heart disease is the #1 killer of Americans.1
- Each year, 500,000 Americans die of heart disease, and women comprise about half of
all heart disease deaths.1
- At around 45, men’s risk of heart disease begins to rise significantly; women’s risk starts
to increase at 55.1
- 50% of men and 64% of women who die suddenly of heart disease have no previous symptoms of the disease.1
The CVD-Fighting Power of TLC
Fortunately, you can help your patients reduce CVD risk by recommending natural, therapeutic lifestyle change (TLC) programs that include the following:
- Eating a healthier diet. Research suggests that a diet rich in whole grains, legumes, and vegetables (especially the dark-green leafy variety) is not only a good source of essential nutrients and fiber, but it also has a beneficial effect on blood lipids and blood pressure.
- Starting a daily exercise regimen. Exercise will help build muscle and increase the body’s metabolic rate, enabling patients to more effectively burn calories. Even low to moderate intensity activities such as walking the dog, stair climbing, and gardening can provide significant benefits.
- Taking high quality nutritional supplements. Supplementing a healthier diet with certain nutrients—at doses that are difficult to obtain from diet alone—may be beneficial in supporting overall health.
- Learning to manage stress. Change of any kind, even if beneficial, is stressful. Eating in response to stress (i.e., “emotional” eating), can undo all of a patient’s good dietary and fitness efforts. For these and other reasons, stress management techniques such as breathing exercises, meditation, massage, and yoga are invaluable for good health.
Experts Agree on TLC
Leading national organizations concur that TLC programs can play a major role in cardiovascular health.
- The Third Report of the NCEP Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III, or ATP III)—an evidence-based report that provides the scientific rationale for the indications for intensive cholesterol-lowering therapy in clinical practice—recommends a multifaceted lifestyle strategy to diminish risk for coronary heart disease (CHD).2
- The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has administered the National High Blood Pressure Education Program (NHBPEP) Coordinating Committee—a coalition of 39 major professional, public, and voluntary organizations and 7 federal agencies—in order to issue guidelines and advisories that increase awareness, prevention, treatment, and control of hypertension. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) recommends using lifestyle interventions first, and then proceeding with appropriate drug therapy for patients with higher levels of blood pressure (BP) or in whom inadequate response to lifestyle modification is observed.3
- In a prospective study published in the American Journal of Cardiology, the authors evaluated the clinical efficacy of participation in a 12-week, community-based lifestyle management program in 2,390 ethnically diverse men and women with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and/or impaired fasting glucose or diabetes mellitus.4 Of the subjects with an elevated baseline systolic BP, diastolic BP, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and/or fasting glucose, 64%, 67%, 11%, and 39%, respectively, achieved the goal value with TLC without the use of pharmacotherapeutic agents.
Conclusion: Many patients with conventional risk factors for CHD can experience lowered risk without medications within 12 weeks of starting TLC, refuting the notion that intensive lifestyle modification is not worth the effort.
FirstLine Therapy®—Better Health Now and for a Lifetime
FirstLine Therapy (FLT) is a TLC program developed to help patients address the underlying causes of disease and lead a healthier, more vibrant life. The basic principles of FLT—healthy eating, regular exercise, nutritional supplementation, and stress management—are the foundation upon which you can build a program tailored to your patients’ specific needs; and build up your practice at the same time.
Put Your Patients on the Path to Better Cardiovascular Health Today!
The time to return your patients to healthy blood glucose levels is now! Learn more about FirstLine Therapy and the FirstLine Therapy Certification Program click here.
Blood Sugar & Diabetes
Obesity
GI Health
Men's Health
Women's Health
Mood & Cognition
Bone & Joint Health
Stress Management
REFERENCES
- Excerpts from: “Your Guide To A Healthy Heart”, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH Publication No. 06–5269. Published November 2005. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/other/your_guide/healthyheart.pdf. Accessed February 19, 2008.
- National Institutes of Health. Detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood cholesterol in adults (Adult Treatment Panel III). Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel 2001, NIH PublicationNo. 01-3670 2001:1-28. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/hypertension/. Accessed February 22, 2008.
- Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, et al. Seventh report of the joint national committee on prevention, detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure (JNC 7). Hypertens. 2003;42:1206-52.
- Gordon NF, Salmon RD, Franklin BA, et al. Effectiveness of therapeutic lifestyle changes in patients with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and/or hyperglycemia. Am J Cardiol. 2004;94(12):1558-61.