Bypassing Heart Surgery

Is the end of surgery for cardiovascular disease coming soon? Quite possibly, according to dramatic new cardiac research. The most significant finding is that the old culprit hard arterial plaque obstructing the artery has been demoted into a secondary role. The focus is now on a significantly different kind of plaque that is estimated to be responsible for 85% of all heart attacks and strokes. This deadly variety is called vulnerable plaque.

Vulnerable plaque has come under scrutiny only very recently. It has not been noticed during traditional cardiovascular diagnostic testing because it builds up within the wall of the artery itself, extending outwards very little. It is made up primarily of soft cholesterol rather than the more crystalline form of obstructing plaque. This is contained by a fibrous cap that is thinner and weaker than obstructing plaque and so is much more easily ruptured. Further, the body tends to respond to vulnerable plaque as an infection. It sends defensive blood cells to the spots that attack and inflame the cap. This tendency to breakage is what gives vulnerable plaque its name. The interior of the plaque contains powerful coagulants that if released into the blood can create massive, lethal clots. This is what makes it so deadly.

Cross section of an unoccluded (unblocked) artery. The familiar kind of hard obstructing (arteriosclerotic) plaque would build up from the interior walls toward the center of the lumen (the channel through which blood flows), and be easily seen on an angiogram. Vulnerable plaque would be primarily buried within the artery walls themselves, protruding inwards very little, and would only appear using Ultra High-speed Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

A blood clot (thrombus) completely blocking a small pulmonary artery in a human lung. The visible meshwork that forms the basis of this clot is made of fibrin. Fibrin is produced by the action of the enzyme thrombin on soluble fibrinogen (a protein) in the blood. Fibrinogen levels and clotting activities can be reduced using natural substances such as Vitamin E, garlic, gingko biloba, red algae, enzymes and EPA (an omega-3 essential fatty acid). This astonishing new breakthrough in cardiac research explains why there has never been a significant reduction in heart attacks or deaths in surgical patients. It also lends itself to a kinder, non-invasive, supplement-based protocol that can give men and women immediate protection against heart attacks and strokes.

The discovery of vulnerable plaque did not come from the alternative medical community, but from conventional researchers. Studies have been published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and other mainstream publications. One of the recognized authorities on the subject is Dr. Valentin Fuster, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Cardiovascular Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and President of the American Heart Association.

Click below for related material:

Seen and Unseen Plaque
Blood vs. Blood Vessel
Infections, Inflammation, Metabolism
Natural Remedies