Can Statin Drugs Undo a Bad Diet?
Don’t think for a second that taking statins means you can eat lots of junk food and not worry about that causing heart disease.
Can statin use counteract the damage caused by bad eating habits?
“That’s a great question because I see this play out in practice all the time,” begins Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a board certified cardiologist and co-founder of Step One Foods.
“People get really complacent about what they eat when they’re on a statin, because no matter what they do, their ‘numbers’ are perfect. But you have to remember that cholesterol readings are only one small clue as to what is going on inside your body.”
Statins vs. Healthy Diet
Dr. Klodas explains, “A good way to think about this is to consider exercise and eating Twinkies. You can get rid of the calories inside a Twinkie by exercising, but you can’t get rid of the biochemical effects that the sugars, fats and preservatives have on all your cells.
“It’s the same with statins and Twinkies. You can mitigate the effects of the sugars and fats on your cholesterol numbers, but you still can’t get rid of the biochemical effects of those same sugars, fats and preservatives on all your cells and you certainly can’t get rid of the calories.”
Think about how long a Twinkie’s shelf life is—superpreservatives!
“Whenever I put someone on a statin I always point out to them that I can make virtually anyone’s cholesterol numbers perfect if I just put them on enough medication.
“But unless they are doing their part in terms of what they eat and how much they exercise, all I’m doing is putting very pretty (and often very expensive) wallpaper over crumbling walls. It may look great, but we really haven’t fixed anything.”
It’s like the analogy with firefighters. You know a fire is nearby. But knocking down the firefighters doesn’t mean the fire disappears.
Statins knock down cholesterol and bad fat numbers, but this doesn’t mean that the inflammation inside the coronary arteries goes away; it’s still raging.
Dr. Klodas continues, “Unfortunately, wallpaper over crumbling walls is too often the norm in medical practice, and many people are placed on statins without first being given the right tools to mitigate the need for these medications.
“This is why I came up with Step One Foods. I wanted to make it really easy, essentially goof-proof, for people to start fixing the walls.”
Statins are easy to take; just pop the pill at bedtime with some water. People want the easy route.
My brother takes statins and has “great numbers,” but eats a lot of processed foods.
Those numbers aren’t the innards of the wall; they are merely the superficial pretty wall paper.
Trained at Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins, Dr. Klodas believes in first changing the diet, rather than taking pills, to improve cholesterol profile.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Why Your White German Shepherd Is Losing Patches of Fur
A common household product may be what’s causing your white German shepherd to be losing chunks of its beautiful fur.
A veterinarian can overlook this cause, as was the case of our dog!
When my parent’s white German shepherd was a young adult, he began to mysteriously begin losing patches of his gorgeous fur.
We started noticing that his fur was falling out in certain areas. It was not a diffuse or evenly-distributed loss of fur. There were bare patches here and there.
I came up with the solution, but not before we took the white German shepherd in for a visit with the veterinarian.
The veterinarian couldn’t come up with an explanation. He sent us home with nothing to work with. Soon after, my cousin visited and suggested adding white rice to his diet.
This was part of her own diet, which she said put her multiple sclerosis into remission.
The white rice failed to remedy the problem.
An idea then struck me: Only an allergic reaction could cause fur loss in a dog.
The idea of an allergic reaction had come up before with the veterinarian, but it only went as far as that.
Just what the white German shepherd could be allergic to was never explored.
But I began noticing that the fur loss was in the very areas that the dog would lie on when on his big doggie pillow.
I also knew that periodically, my mother took the cover off the pillow and washed it in the washing machine — with standard laundry detergent.
“I bet he’s allergic to the laundry detergent!”
I added, “There’s a chemical from it in the pillow covering. He lies on that very often, and it can’t be coincidence that he’s losing fur in the very areas of his body that make contact with the pillow!”
I told my mother to start using a hypo-allergenic laundry detergent. Once she switched to the hypo-allergenic brand, the fur began growing back in!
My mother initially thought that it was “the diet” that my cousin had recommended. But eventually, my mother got tired of preparing all that rice and stopped giving it to the dog.
Despite that, the fur loss never recurred! This meant that the rice had no effect on the fur growing back in, and that it had to be an allergic reaction to the laundry detergent.
There’s a reason why there are hypo-allergenic versions of laundry detergents.
Many people, and dogs, are allergic to the chemicals in standard products.
Our German shepherd never again suffered from the loss of his beautiful white fur.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Teen Has Skipped Heartbeat with Breathing Problems
If your teenager has a “skipped” heartbeat and problems breathing, what might this possibly mean?
A teen may experience what seems like a skipped heartbeat from anxiety, but trouble with breathing adds a whole new dimension to the sensation.
“A teen with these complaints needs to be evaluated for congenital heart disease, abnormalities of heart rhythm and lung disease,” says cardiologist and internal medicine specialist Norman E. Lepor, MD, who’s with Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills, CA.
He adds, “Absent these one would consider seeking out psychological causes (stress…) that can be associated with hyperventilation.
“Useful testing in these patients include pulse oximetry, echocardiography, Holter monitor and even treadmill testing to assess exercise tolerance.”
The symptoms can be caused by panic attacks, and panic attacks aren’t always triggered by a definitive stressor.
The skipped heartbeat and apparent difficulty or problems with breathing may also have separate causes.
For instance, the issue with breathing can be caused by acid reflux, and yes, teenagers can get acid reflux.
When the acid gets as far up as the vocal cords (and the patient won’t necessarily experience heartburn), this can cause a situation called laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR).
“Even young healthy people can develop LPR during stressful periods, eating a poor diet, even during exercise,” says Dr. Stacey Silvers, MD, of Madison ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery in NYC, who is board certified in otolaryngology.
“Sudden or gradual voice changes, choking symptoms and shortness of breath are usually symptoms of LPR,” says Dr. Silvers.
The skipped heartbeat could be from fear stemming from the shortness of breath, from general anxiety or from a cardiac issue, even though in a teen, a skipped heartbeat and problems with breathing are more likely to have a non-cardiac origin.
Nevertheless, it’s important to see a cardiologist to see if a cardiac cause can be ruled out.
Having performed over 4,000 coronary angiograms and angioplasties, Dr. Lepor has focused on prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease.
An NYC expert in ear, nose and throat care, Dr. Silvers has been named among America’s Top Physicians and Surgeons in facial plastic surgery and otolaryngology numerous times since 2003. Dr. Silvers is an expert in the field of minimally invasive rhinology, resolving patients’ breathing and sinus problems with simple in-office procedures.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Heart Rate in 60s BUT You Also Have Heart Disease?
How is it possible for an elderly person (over age 65) to have a low resting heart rate along with severe coronary artery disease (CAD)?
Before my mother had CABG x 5, her resting heart rate was often in the high 60s, giving her the illusion that she had a healthy heart! After she had the surgery, I learned that her ejection fraction was 35 percent.
So I was thinking, here we have an elderly patient with severe heart disease plus a low ejection fraction—yet a pre-surgical resting heart rate in the high 60s.
I’d think that her conditions would have made her heart beat fast since its “squeeze” was only 35 percent, and the coronary arteries were quite narrowed.
In fact, many very out-of-shape people have slow resting heart rates, or at least pulses in the high 60s (which is very slow for them), while there are younger gym rats with resting pulses in the 80s. What’s going on here?
What a Cardiologist Says
“The heart has one main internal pacemaker that generates the electrical charge that leads to the heartbeat or heart contraction,” says cardiologist and internal medicine specialist Norman E. Lepor, MD, who’s with Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills, CA.
“As part of aging, this internal, called the sino-atrial node, can fatigue and slow down the electrical discharge.
“If the heartbeat slows to the point that one becomes dizzy or faints, an artificial pacemaker implantation is often performed to resolve this.
“In patients with coronary artery disease, a slow heartbeat can also be caused by medications that are used to treat angina or chest pain symptoms (my mother was not on any cardiac medications prior to surgery, so presumably her sino-atrial node was persistently fatigued).
“Common medicines that are used in these patients that can slow heartbeat include beta blockers (metoprolol, atenolol, carvedilol.) and some calcium channel blockers (verapamil, diltiazem).”
Having performed over 4,000 coronary angiograms and angioplasties, Dr. Lepor has focused on prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Freepik
HOW Anxiety Causes PVCs
You already know that PVCs can be caused by anxiety, but just HOW does this mechanism occur?
“PVCs, which are extra beats that occur commonly and if they occur in modest frequency are not necessarily a pathologic condition,” begins cardiologist and internal medicine specialist Norman E. Lepor, MD, who’s with Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills, CA.
“The sensation of the PVC is usually referred to as a palpitation or extra beats.
“The sensing of extra bests seems to occur both with anxiety related to both excess adrenaline release, leading to cardiac electrical excitation, and to heightened sensitivity to one’s heartbeat that occurs in an anxiety state.”
The “stress hormone” adrenaline, then, is a culprit when a person experiences a premature ventricular contraction during a stressful or fear-inducing event.
In fact, if you tend to feel the thump-THUMP of PVCs when you experience acute anxiety or some kind of fear, you’ll also notice that you have that “butterflies in the stomach” feeling — and this is the adrenaline at work:
The body’s so-called fight or flee hormone that revs up the body’s engine to prepare it for a fight or escape.
“People also have a tendency to feel these extra beats at bedtime when the environment is quiet and there are fewer distractions,” says Dr. Lepor.
Beware of the Bed
Bedtime — right after you slip into bed and are just lying there, awake and thinking — is also the time that many people begin reflecting about all the problems going on in their lives, and all the tasks they must get through come next day — and this leads to anxiety and…of course…the PVCs.
For some people, the bed is a conditioned stimulus to anxiety and edginess, as they anticipate the stresses that the next day will bring on.
These stressors include the next day being Monday, a doctor or dentist appointment, a visit from a relative, a situation with a neighbor and a new injury.
Dr. Lepor continues, “Cortisol is not directly related to PVCs, but as a stress hormone it is released in higher concentrations along with adrenaline.
“It is the adrenaline component that is more responsible for the cardiac effects of stress and the cortisol which tries to mitigate this effect.”
Engaging in strenuous exercise can help blunt cortisol production.
While moderate exercise can elevate cortisol levels temporarily, intense physical activity such as HIIT can lead to a more balanced hormonal response over time.
This effect can help you manage anxiety and also reduce the occurrences of premature ventricular contractions.
Having performed over 4,000 coronary angiograms and angioplasties, Dr. Lepor has focused on prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: ©Freepik
3 PVCs in a Row, but Structurally Normal Heart?
Can a run of three PVCs in someone with a structurally normal heart ever mean something concerning?
PVC stands for premature ventricular contraction, and some people experience or “feel” three in a row, as in thump … THUMP, thump … THUMP, thump … THUMP.
A run of three PVCs in a row leaves many people quite worried, even if their echocardiogram reveals a structurally normal heart.
“The more PVCs in a row, the more likely they are pathologic,” says cardiologist Norman E. Lepor, MD, cardiologist and internal medicine specialist Norman E. Lepor, MD, who’s with Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills, CA.
“Three or more PVCs in a row are defined as non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, and an evaluation for underlying disease is mandatory when they occur,” explains Dr. Lepor.
What if the echocardiograph shows a structurally normal heart?
“If the heart is structurally normal you need to also evaluate for metabolic abnormalities such as electrolyte disorders (calcium, magnesium, potassium) and electrical abnormalities on ECG such as long QT syndrome.”
Don’t sit around in fear all day; make an appointment with a cardiologist and get some tests done.
Some recommended tests would be any of the following:
* EKG
* Echocardiogram
* Exercise stress test
* Cardiac MRI
* Blood tests (electrolytes, thyroid function)
* Electrophysiology study
Having performed over 4,000 coronary angiograms and angioplasties, Dr. Lepor has focused on prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Freepik/8photo
Can Stress Cause an Extra Heartbeat?
This is about stress causing an extra heartbeat or the sensation of one, rather than the feeling of a skipped heartbeat.
“Studies have shown that stress can cause a sensation of a skipped or extra heartbeat that can be associated with either an extra heartbeat or no abnormality of heartbeat,” explains cardiologist Norman E. Lepor, MD, cardiologist and internal medicine specialist Norman E. Lepor, MD, who’s with Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills, CA.
Dr. Lepor says that “this is related to the stress causing a release of adrenaline.”
Adrenaline is a hormone (chemical messenger) that’s released when we experience anxiety, trepidation or fear—and the fear need not be monumental—it can be simply that of opening an envelop that contains a bill that you know will be big.
Adrenaline is the “fight or flee” hormone that helps prepare the body for action.
Other hormones are also kicked into gear. A fight or flight produces anabolic hormones that neutralize the stress hormones, bringing the body back into balance.
If the fight or flight doesn’t come (i.e., you’re trapped at your workplace desk all day long in a stressful environment), the body will then be in a persistent state of fight or flight preparation…which is harmful to the body.
Dr. Lepor continues, “The sensation of an extra heartbeat is not always associated with an actual extra beat.
“The only way to distinguish is to wear a Holter monitor that records the heartbeat and symptoms you may have over a 24 hour period.”
This small device is worn on the body. After you’re done wearing it you turn it in to the medical clinic where its recording of your pulse will be printed out and interpreted.
If you seem to be experiencing an extra heartbeat when you’re under a lot of stress, ask your doctor about a Holter monitor.
Having performed over 4,000 coronary angiograms and angioplasties, Dr. Lepor has focused on prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/Frank11
The Cause of a Heartbeat in Your Ear
You are not imagining hearing or feeling a heartbeat in your ear, as this is real and has a definite cause.
The phenomenon of having a heartbeat in your ear even has a name!
“At some times, especially when one lies on the side with an ear on the pillow, you can hear the heartbeat in your ear,” says cardiologist Norman E. Lepor, MD, cardiologist and internal medicine specialist Norman E. Lepor, MD, who’s with Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills, CA.
“This is called pulsatile tinnitus. It occurs in patients who have conductive hearing loss that leads to increased sensitivity to internal head sounds such as blood flow to the ear, chewing.”
Dr. Lepor continues, “Patients with high blood pressure surges and blockages in the main arteries to the brain (carotid artery) can also have pulsatile tinnitus.
“If one senses a ‘swooshing sound’ in one’s ear, that can be related to an abnormality of the blood vessels in the brain called A-V malformation that can only be diagnosed with imaging studies such as CT, MR or angiography.”
If you’re experiencing a heartbeat in your ear, however, don’t jump to the conclusion that you necessarily have hearing loss, carotid artery disease or an A-V malformation.
Remember, the arteries are like pipes that run throughout a house, in that when water is gushing out of a particular pipe, you can hear this if you press your ear to a wall in another part of the house — pipes, or arteries, can conduct sound.
The arteries near your ear are very close to your heart, so it shouldn’t be surprising if you pick up a little heartbeat in certain positions in bed.
Nevertheless, it certainly won’t hurt to report this to a cardiologist and get an exam to rule out a less-than-benign cause — especially if you also hear it when not in bed or lying down.
In fact, many people have hearing loss and don’t realize it, since hearing loss develops insidiously and is painless.
The most common symptom of hearing loss is that of asking someone to repeat what they just said — the listener simply thinks the speaker didn’t talk clearly or loud enough.
If a heartbeat in your ear has you worried, discuss this with a cardiologist.
More Causes of a “Heartbeat in the Ear”
• Anemia
• Arterial stenosis
• Atherosclerosis
• Conductive hearing loss
• Ear abnormalities/Eustacian tube dysfunction
• Glomus benign tumor
• Hyperthyroidism
• Sigmoid or jugular sinus diverticulum
• Sinus wall abnormalities
• Spasms of the muscles within the ear
• Venous hum
If you have pulsatile tinnitus, you absolutely need to see your physician; it can mean something potentially life threatening.
Having performed over 4,000 coronary angiograms and angioplasties, Dr. Lepor has focused on prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/michaelheim
Can a 24 Hour Holter Monitor Miss Atrial Fibrillation?
Since atrial fibrillation isn’t guaranteed to occur in any given 24-hour period, isn’t it logical to conclude that a Holder monitor could miss it?
What exactly is atrial fibrillation?
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a heart rhythm disorder characterized by rapid and irregular electrical activity in the atria, the heart’s upper chambers.
This irregularity leads to an erratic heartbeat, which can cause symptoms like palpitations, fatigue and shortness of breath.
AFib increases the risk of stroke and heart failure if untreated.
If you were to view the number on a heart rate screen of a person with this heart arrhythmia, you would not see a steady number.
A normal heartbeat would show a steady number, give or take a few, such as a consistent range of 78 to 81.
If someone is in the midst of atrial fibrillation, you’d be seeing the numbers jumping all over the place quite quickly.
One moment the range might be high 70’s. Next moment it’s jumping around between 140 and 170.
Then suddenly it’s between 100 and 120. Then suddenly it’s 85, then 150. You get the picture.
A-fib. BruceBlaus
If a doctor or you yourself suspect atrial fibrillation, and the next step is to wear a Holter monitor, you may then think that this won’t necessarily be an effective way of tracking the heart rhythm disorder — since the atrial fibrillation may be quiet during the time you have on the Holter device.
“Atrial fibrillation can occur at varying frequency and is often not associated with symptoms,” says Norman E. Lepor, MD, cardiologist and internal medicine specialist Norman E. Lepor, MD, who’s with Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills, CA.
“If it occurs less often than every 24 hours it can be missed on a Holter monitor,” he adds.
“Longer-term monitoring devices that can be monitoring for weeks to years can be used in those cases.”
So if the Holter device shows no abnormalities…this in no way means you don’t have A-fib.
Your doctor will tell you that you need to wear an event monitor that tracks heart rhythm for a longer period of time.
This device records your heart’s electrical activity continuously or at specific intervals to help diagnose irregularities or abnormal rhythms that may not be picked up by a Holter monitor.
Untreated atrial fibrillation is a major risk factor for an ischemic stroke.
Having performed over 4,000 coronary angiograms and angioplasties, Dr. Lepor has focused on prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
The Truth About GAS Causing Heart Palpitations
A cardiologist, not an online thread layperson, answers the question, “Can gas cause heart palpitations?”
Is there a true connection between farting and a flip-flopping heart?
“There is no clear cause and effect relationship between gas and palpitations. As common events, they can occur together,” says Norman E. Lepor, MD, cardiologist and internal medicine specialist Norman E. Lepor, MD, who’s with Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills, CA.
So then, palpitations of the heart cannot possibly ever be caused by gas?
Dr. Lepor responds, “Only if one feels very embarrassed by the release of gas in public.”
The beating of the heart is driven by electrical signals. If you fart, there is no way that this will disrupt those electrical commands. Not directly, anyways.
Passing gas involves the digestive tract. Heart palpitations involve the cardiovascular system.
Though some bodily systems work closely together, such as the musculoskeletal and the nervous system, this is not the case with the digestive and the cardiovascular system.
So if you find that your heart skips a beat or jumps somewhat right after you pass gas … then consider the possibility that it’s embarrassment.
And try not to let one out when you’re around other people, especially inside a car or an elevator.
Having performed over 4,000 coronary angiograms and angioplasties, Dr. Lepor has focused on prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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