A few years ago, I told you that blood viscosity is the number one risk factor for heart attacks and vascular disease. U.S. doctors have not paid much attention to that report. But researchers in Italy did. And they found that the most popular heart drugs do little to prevent heart attacks due to your bloods viscosity.
If you recall, viscosity refers to how thick your blood is and how fast your body can move the blood along. If its too thick, your blood moves slower and does not move through smaller openings very well. This reduces the amount of oxygen delivered to your cells and also affects your blood pressure.
Italian researchers conducted a study on 64 subjects who had recently suffered a heart attack. All of the participants were under 46 years of age. The authors found that all of these subjects had high blood viscosity. But even worse, the viscosity of 33 participants was still high three months after their heart attacks. And to the authors surprise, the use of standard drug therapy (i.e., statins and drugs to inhibit platelet aggregation – such as Plavix or aspirin) was without any apparent influence on their viscosity.
Then these scientists looked at the puzzle more deeply. They divided the patients into two groups. The first group had two conventional heart risk factors (smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes, or a family history of coronary disease) or less. The second group had three or more. The researchers found that the latter group had higher viscosity than those with less risk factors did. But they also found that both groups had high viscosity! That means the risk for heart attack was viscosity, not the conventional factors. In fact, some of the participants did not have any conventional risk factors. So viscosity was the only known culprit.
Remember I told you that blood is like ketchup. Its viscosity changes with pressure. Ketchup does not flow on its own; its too thick. But if you add pressure (i.e., shake or squeeze the bottle) it becomes less viscous — and it flows. The more pressure you impose on your blood, the less viscous it becomes. If your blood is too viscous, your heart will compensate by generating higher pressure, which reduces viscosity. But the higher pressure is a risk on its own. EWOT is a terrific remedy. The exercise (with oxygen) will therapeutically increase heart tone and force, reducing viscosity. I find the effects of EWOT long lasting.
This new research explains why so many people with no risk factors die of a heart attack. That is why I think a blood viscosity test is reasonable for every adult. Even people in their 30s can have high viscous blood. Call Rheologics to find a doctor who does this test (800-969-2585).
The good news is high viscosity is treatable. But drugs are not the answer. These researchers proved conventional drugs have almost no impact on your bloods viscosity. They are chemicals designed to suppress the damage you are doing to yourself.
There are several things you can do to lower your viscosity. Oxidation therapies (such as photooxidation, ozone, and those mentioned earlier) have been shown in Russia and Germany to lower blood viscosity.
Through the years, my patients have felt that these therapies have done wonders for them. I also recommend chelation therapy. It eliminates heavy metals, which destroy the lubricating properties of the lining of your vessels.
Your diet, if heavily laden with fat and animal protein is a prescription for a viscosity disaster. So cut back on fat and animal protein.
And, finally, donate blood regularly. This encourages the production of more youthful red cells, which are more flexible and much less viscous. And that greatly enhances your circulation. Like cancer, heart disease begins years before the event. You can reduce your future risk now. If you would like more information on viscosity and how to treat it, you can read my article on my website. It was in the September 2004 issue. Ref: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation 29 (2003).