[heartattack] WebMD - HRT, Vitamins C & E Don't Help Heart

[Guest guest]

> An interesting article and very Contrary to what most of us believe,,,,,,about

C and E vitamins, not sure I believe it,,,, bh

 

>webmd.com/content/article/1675.65830

 

 

 

Bilhar;

 

This study conveniently leaves out the source of the Estrogen and

Pregesterone--------Most probably these were synthetic, which would tend to

stand this study on it's ear.

 

If you will read Paulings books you will see how the establishment designs their

studies to show Vitamins as useless.

 

When the establishment publishes a report that vitamins are " possibly " dangerous

it becomes self serving.

 

Even the most prestigius Medical Journals now complain that objective studies

are rare, They even let the cat of the bag by reporting that the Drug companies

control the Universities and modern medical education.

 

Only those who can read and reason and have the time and inclination to do so

have a chance to avoid becoming a victim of the Drug Sellers.

 

I wonder how many of the millions of PC Computer owners ever read the

Alternative Health stuff as We do?

 

Lorenzo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Group,

 

Here is an article written about the study in question. Of course

this side will never make the popular media. So the junk science for

profit goes on.

 

Hell, Atkins and later Rath showed that heart disease, plaque and the

related problems can be reversed with nutrition but it will never

become popular knowledge. There is little or no money to be made in

it.

 

If anyone has any foolish notions that our health system is to bring

you health, you should consider some serious self education on the

matter.

 

regards

 

Frank

 

http://www.askbillsardi.com/sdm.asp?pg=news & specific=54

 

11/20/2002

MORE BAD SCIENCE: BOGUS STUDY FALSELY CLAIMS ANTIOXIDANT VITAMIN

PILLS NARROW CORONARY ARTERIES AND INCREASE MORTALITY AMONG

POSTMENOPAUSAL FEMALES WITH HEART DISEASE

By Bill Sardi, Knowledge of Health, Inc.

 

The headlines today read: " Antioxidant vitamins and hormone

replacement in older women show no heart health benefits among older

women who already have heart disease. Heart disease appears to

progress more quickly among postmenopausal women who take high doses

of vitamins E and C and hormones… and their use should be

discouraged. " [Associated Press Nov. 19, 2002]

 

The bogus study behind these headlines was published in the

prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association. [J Am Med

Assoc 288: 2432-40, 2002] The study involved 423 postmenopausal

female patients, mean age 65 years, with heart disease who took 800

IU of vitamin E, 1000 milligrams of vitamin C, or estrogen pills. All

the women underwent pre and post-treatment angiograms, a form of x-

ray that shows the course of blood through blood vessels and chambers

of the heart. At least one coronary artery was narrowed by 15 to 75

percent among women at the beginning of this study. Over a period

averaging 2.8 years, changes in the diameter of the blood vessels

were measured.

 

Patients who received inactive placebo pills experienced progression

of artery narrowing at the rate of 0.028 millimeters per year whereas

the vitamin and hormone-treated patients experienced narrowing at the

rate of 0.044 to 0.047 millimeters per year. But the groups were too

small to make meaningful comparisons. Twenty-six patients experienced

a nonfatal heart attack, a stroke, or died in the hormone replacement

group, 26 in the vitamin group and 18 in the control group. The study

indicated decreases in the inner blood vessel diameter were greater

in each of the 3 groups compared to placebo tablets, " but these

trends were not statistically significant. " Yet the conclusive

statement at the end of the study said high doses of vitamins E and

C " should be discouraged " among women with coronary artery disease.

In reality, 6.1% of the vitamin and 6.1% of the hormone users and

4.3% of the placebo pill users died, for a difference in hard numbers

of only 1.8% between groups. But scientific studies use relative

numbers which give the appearance of significance.

 

Is artery narrowing a valid marker?

 

There is also question whether thickening of the coronary arteries is

a valid marker of future artery narrowing or blockages, heart attacks

and death? With advancing age the blood vessels of men and women lose

their strength due to collagen loss. The provision of supplemental

vitamin C increases collagen production and can thicken the weakened

arterial wall. Thickening does not always equate with increased risk

for disease. The removal of vitamin C from the diet of animals

induces a type of artery thinning and weakness that makes the vessels

prone to rupture, but vitamin C does not influence the progression of

arterial plaques. [Circulation 105: 1485-90, 2002]

 

Another problem is in blindly accepting the angiographic photos as

having some relationship with mortality. Arterial photographs are

assessed to predict the site and risk for occlusion (narrowing or

blockage) of coronary arteries. In studies conducted at Wake Forest

University, Bowman-Gray School of Medicine, 25 of 29 patients studies

had coronary arteries that were more than 50 percent narrowed on

their initial angiogram but 19 of these 29 patients (66%) experienced

a later occlusion of a different artery that was less than 50%

occluded. In only 34 percent of the patients did a heart attack occur

at the site of the most severely narrowed coronary artery. Studies

show that 66% to 78% of heart attacks are related to an artery with

less than 50% narrowing. Researchers have concluded

that " angiographic severity of coronary stenosis (narrowing) may be

inadequate to accurately predict the time or location of a subsequent

coronary artery occlusion that will predict a heart attack. "

[Circulation 78: 1157-66, 1988] Another study confirms that the

severity of artery narrowing is a poor predictor of a subsequent

heart attack. [Am J Cardiology 69: 729-32, 1992]

 

While coronary angiography is considered the " gold standard " in heart

disease, it may be another technology worth throwing in the scrap

heap along with hormone replacement therapy, mastectomies and

arthroscopic knee surgery which have recently been declared

scientifically unsound.

 

Howard H. Wayne, MD, of the Noninvasive Heart Center of San Diego,

writes that " increasingly it is becoming apparent that the amount of

narrowing of the coronary arteries is of only minor importance. Such

narrowing does not correlate with the patient's symptoms, the

performance of the heart or the patient's prognosis. When the

angiograms of patients with stable and unstable chest pain are

compared there are no distinguishing anatomical differences. " The

coronary arteries only contain about 25% of the blood flow to the

heart. The vast majority of the total coronary circulation cannot be

seen on an angiogram. Blood vessels smaller than a half millimeter

cannot be visualized.

 

Factors other than artery plaques

 

Modern medicine is making great strides in understanding factors

other than angiographic evidence of artery narrowing and cholesterol,

which may not be meaningful measures of disease nor predictors of

future heart attacks. A recent study revealed that 77% of the women

who experienced a heart attack had LDL cholesterol levels below 160

mg per deciliter. [New England J Med 347: 1557-65, 2002]

 

A review of the medical literature reveals that a lack of magnesium

and essential omega-3 oils in the diet is directly responsible for a

majority of the sudden-death variety of heart attacks. [Circulation

99: 2452-57, 1999; Circulation 104: 704, 2001; Am Heart J 119: 1042-

49, 1990; Acta Cardiology 36: 411-29, 1981] There was no indication

in the report recently published in the Journal of the American

Medical Assn whether the women who died succumbed suddenly. They may

simply have had a shortage of these nutrients and experienced a

subsequent fatal heart attack which of course would not be prevented

by vitamins C or E.

 

Additionally, it is now widely known that elevated homocysteine

levels are a risk factor for coronary heart disease and that

homocysteine is not related to narrowing of coronary arteries.

[Circulation 105: 1776-79, 2002; Cardiology 97: 214-17, 2002] There

is no mention that the postmenopausal females being angiographically

assessed in the JAMA study were prescribed needed folic acid

supplements to reduce homocysteine levels. All that is reported is

that these 60% of these patients were on cholesterol-lowering drugs.

 

Furthermore, it is known that postmenopausal females have a different

type of coronary heart disease than men. With the loss of hormones,

calcium begins to be lost from the bones (osteoporosis) and to be

deposited into the blood vessels and other organs. Calcium plaques in

the walls of blood vessels are not visualized by angiograms, only by

CAT scan. Additionally, upon cessation of menstruation, women build

up iron. It is known that males have twice the rate of heart disease

and iron levels as females until women reach menopause when the risks

even out between the sexes.

 

Furthermore, six of ten patients in the study were taking statin

cholesterol-lowering drugs which deplete the body of coenzyme Q10, an

essential antioxidant, particularly in cardiac tissues. This was not

factored into the study.

 

Bottom line, it cannot be stated with certainty that high-dose

antioxidant vitamin supplements increased the rate of mortality or

plaque buildup on artery walls.

 

 

 

 

Gettingwell , " Lorenzo " <lorenzo1@w...> wrote:

> > An interesting article and very Contrary to what most of us

believe,,,,,,about C and E vitamins, not sure I believe it,,,, bh

>

> >webmd.com/content/article/1675.65830

>

>

>

> Bilhar;

>

> This study conveniently leaves out the source of the Estrogen and

Pregesterone--------Most probably these were synthetic, which would

tend to stand this study on it's ear.

>

> If you will read Paulings books you will see how the establishment

designs their studies to show Vitamins as useless.

>

> When the establishment publishes a report that vitamins

are " possibly " dangerous it becomes self serving.

>

> Even the most prestigius Medical Journals now complain that

objective studies are rare, They even let the cat of the bag by

reporting that the Drug companies control the Universities and

modern medical education.

>

> Only those who can read and reason and have the time and

inclination to do so have a chance to avoid becoming a victim of the

Drug Sellers.

>

> I wonder how many of the millions of PC Computer owners ever read

the Alternative Health stuff as We do?

>

> Lorenzo

>

---

> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.

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> Version: 6.0.427 / Virus Database: 240 - Release 12/6/02

>

>