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A “Game-Changer” For Your Heart

The AHA! Team — Wed, 21 May 2025 05:30:38 +0000

Al Sears, MD, CNS – Heart disease continues to be the biggest killer in America for one simple reason: The health advice we’re told to follow is just plain wrong. Giving up meat and fat, jogging, and taking a handful of medications will not cure your heart disease. But there is a cutting-edge, FDA-approved natural therapy that I call a game-changer for your heart… I’m talking about enhanced external counter pulsation, or EECP. Most cardiologists continue to ignore this treatment because it doesn’t fit the traditional image of what they do. They consider heart disease a “plumbing” problem. And the solution is to simply fix the blockages. But if that were true, why do heart attacks happen after these blockages have been cleared or bypassed? The real causes of heart disease are damaged blood vessels that inhibit blood flow and inflammation. That’s where this life-saving therapy comes in. Multiple studies reveal that EECP is the safest and most effective reliever of angina chest pain available. It has been shown to have huge benefits for patients with coronary artery disease and heart failure. It increases blood flow to the heart, strengthens circulation, and provides a proven way to treat heart disease with fewer drugs and without bypass surgeries, angioplasty procedures, or stents. And in many cases, it works better than the Big Pharma meds and risky, expensive surgeries that cardiologists continue to push. Although EECP was invented in the U.S. in the 1950s, it was left undeveloped as cardiology went down the more lucrative path of drugs and invasive surgeries. Instead, doctors overseas took up the challenge. They spent 20 years developing counter pulsation as a non-surgical way to treat coronary heart disease, by getting the timing of these devices just right. Counter pulsation means pumping blood during the heart’s rest phase. When the heart is at rest, the cuffs inflate. When the heart pumps, the cuffs deflate. The cuffs compress the blood vessels in your lower limbs and push blood toward the heart. Each wave of increased blood flow is timed to arrive at your heart the moment the organ relaxes. When your heart pumps again, pressure is released. This essentially acts as a passive form of vigorous exercise, boosting blood flow, and pushing oxygen-rich blood throughout your body more strongly than normal. More than 100 studies along with multiple clinical trials prove the effectiveness of EECP. In one large study, researchers followed more than 5,000 patients worldwide. They discovered that 83% of patients had vastly improved blood flow after EECP and 73% reported a significant reduction in the severity of angina symptoms.1 Yet in America, almost all coronary artery disease patients are prescribed Big Pharma meds instead. Regrow Brand-New Blood Vessels Perhaps the most remarkable benefit of EECP is its ability to strengthen and repair damaged blood vessels and regrow new ones, creating new pathways in and around the heart – without any surgical grafting. That is why EECP is hailed as a “natural bypass.”2 Blocked Coronary Arteries You see, when coronary arteries become blocked with plaque, obstructing blood flow, it causes chest pain and possibly a heart attack. Some people can naturally form new blood vessels that serve to bypass these obstructions. Unfortunately, not everyone can. And despite the conventional opinion that nothing can be done, EECP has worked wonders for these patients. Study involving 1,400 patients In a study involving 1,400 patients with refractory angina, 75% had half as many angina attacks after EECP. And in a three-year follow-up, 16% had no angina at all.3 Other studies show that EECP triggers the production of an important hormone called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). This allows blood to bypass the blocked arteries by creating new ones.4 The effects of EECP last about five years.5 If you are interested in trying EECP to increase blood flow and protect your heart, please call the Sears Institute for Anti-Aging Medicine at 561-784-7852. 2 More Ways To Protect Your Arteries EECP is a miracle cure for unclogging arteries. But if you can’t get to my clinic, there are nutrients you can supplement with at home. Here are a couple to try today: 1. Use the B vitamin that’s proven to protect your heart. You probably know vitamin B9 better than folate or folic acid. Folate is the nutrient found in food, while folic acid is the supplement form.Folic acid lowers levels of toxic substances that irritate the heart’s lining. This relaxes your blood vessels and keeps them flexible. Fewer irritations equate to normalized pulse pressure and a reduction in stroke and heart attack. Simply put… When folate is high your risk of heart attack drops by up to 50%.6 Natural sources of folate are dark green vegetables as well as beef, lamb, chicken liver, and eggs. But your body only absorbs half the folate you get from food. I recommend supplementing with 800 mcg a day. 2. Try heart-saving vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 scrubs your arteries clear of the plaque that clogs blood vessels. In a landmark, Dutch trial researchers followed 4,800 people. Results revealed that high levels of vitamin K2 lowered the risk of coronary artery disease by 57%. It lowered calcium buildup in the arteries by 52%. And it slashed the risk of death from any cause by 26%.7 You can get vitamin K2 directly from foods. Our ancestors got plenty from eating organ meats like liver. Other rich sources are meat, full-fat milk, cottage cheese, butter, and cheese. But these foods MUST come from grass-fed animals.You can also supplement. Look for vitamin K2 in the form of “menaquinone-7.” It’s much more bioactive than other forms. Take 45 to 90 mcg a day with a meal to improve absorption. To Your Good Health, Al Sears, MD, CNS References: Soran O. “Two-year clinical outcomes after Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP) therapy in patients with refractory angina pectoris and left ventricular dysfunction (Report from the International EECP Patient Registry). Am J Cardiol. 2006;97(1):17–20. Kiefer D. “Doctors ignore proven alternative to coronary stents and bypass surgery.” Life Extension. Loh PH, et al. “Enhanced external counterpulsation in the treatment of chronic refractory angina: a long-term follow-up outcome from the International Enhanced External Counterpulsation Patient Registry.” Clin Cardiol. 01 Apr 2008, 31(4):159-164 Sharma U, et al. “The role of enhanced external counter pulsation therapy in clinical practice.” Clin Med Res. 2013 Dec;11(4):226-32. Fitzgerald CP, et al. “Enhanced external counterpulsation as initial revascularization treatment for angina refractory to medical therapy.” Cardiology. 2003;100(3):129-35. Pan Y and Jackson R. “Dietary phylloquinone intakes and metabolic syn¬drome in US young adults.” J Am Coll Nutr. 2009;28(4):369-379. Geleijnse JM., et al. “Dietary Intake of Menaquinone Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: The Rotterdam Study.” J Nutr. 2004. To read the original article click here.

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Innovative Silicon Nanochip Can Reprogram Biological Tissue in Living Body

AHA Publisher — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 08:00:12 +0000

Indiana University via Newswise – A silicon device that can change skin tissue into blood vessels and nerve cells has advanced from prototype to standardized fabrication, meaning it can now be made in a consistent, reproducible way. As reported in Nature Protocols, this work, developed by researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine, takes the device one step closer to potential use as a treatment for people with a variety of health concerns. The technology, called tissue nanotransfection, is a non-invasive nanochip device that can reprogram tissue function by applying a harmless electric spark to deliver specific genes in a fraction of a second. In laboratory studies, the device successfully converted skin tissue into blood vessels to repair a badly injured leg. The technology is currently being used to reprogram tissue for different kinds of therapies, such as repairing brain damage caused by stroke or preventing and reversing nerve damage caused by diabetes. “This report on how to exactly produce these tissue nanotransfection chips will enable other researchers to participate in this new development in regenerative medicine,” said Chandan Sen, director of the Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering, associate vice president for research and Distinguished Professor at the IU School of Medicine. Sen also leads the regenerative medicine and engineering scientific pillar of the IU Precision Health Initiative and is lead author on the new publication. Media kit: Access photos and video “This small silicon chip enables nanotechnology that can change the function of living body parts,” he said. “For example, if someone’s blood vessels were damaged because of a traffic accident and they need blood supply, we can’t rely on the pre-existing blood vessel anymore because that is crushed, but we can convert the skin tissue into blood vessels and rescue the limb at risk.” In the Nature Protocols report, researchers published engineering details about how the chip is manufactured. Sen said this manufacturing information will lead to further development of the chip in hopes that it will someday be used clinically in many settings around the world. “This is about the engineering and manufacturing of the chip,” he said. “The chip’s nanofabrication process typically takes five to six days and, with the help of this report, can be achieved by anyone skilled in the art.” Sen said he hopes to seek FDA approval for the chip within a year. Once it receives FDA approval, the device could be used for clinical research in people, including patients in hospitals, health centers and emergency rooms, as well as in other emergency situations by first responders or the military. Other study authors include Yi Xuan, Subhadip Ghatak, Andrew Clark, Zhigang Li, Savita Khanna, Dongmin Pak, Mangilal Agarwal and Sashwati Roy, all of IU, and Peter Duda of the University of Chicago. This research is funded by the National Institutes of Health. To read the original article click here.

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Bio-Printed Blood Vessels Now Possible for Body Implants

AHA Publisher — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 07:00:42 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – The science of tissue engineering uses cells and biomolecules combined with scaffolds to repair, replace or regenerate a damaged body part with bio-identical tissue. But when engineered tissues are transplanted into the body, they need a network of blood vessels to function like natural tissues would. The current method is to transplant the engineered tissue first into a healthy limb, allowing the tissue to be permeated by the host’s blood vessels, and then transplanting the structure into the affected area. A breakthrough from researchers led by Technion-Israel Institute of Technology tissue engineering pioneer Prof. Shulamit Levenberg could make that intermediary step unnecessary. As described in Advanced Materials, Levenberg lab member Ariel Alejandro Szklanny 3D-printed a system containing a functional combination of large and small blood vessels. His structure, dubbed VesselNet, was attached to a rat’s femoral artery. Blood flowing through the engineered structure successfully spread through the vessel network, supplying blood to the tissue without leakage. Szklanny’s vascularized tissue constructs incorporate another Israeli innovation: human collagen produced by engineered tobacco plants, from CollPlant. His technique could be used in the future to create personalized blood vessels, of the exact shape necessary, which can be printed and implanted together with implanted tissue engineered from the patient’s own cells, eliminating rejection risk. The study received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. To read the original article click here.

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High Blood Pressure May Lead to Low Brain Volume

AHA Publisher — Sun, 19 Jul 2020 07:00:14 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – Having hypertension in midlife (ages 40 through 60) is associated with elevated risk of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s dementia later in life, even more so than having the so-called Alzheimer’s gene. “It is clear that cerebral vascular disease”—that is, hardening of the arteries inside our brain—“and cognitive decline travel hand in hand,” something I’ve addressed before. “However, the independent association of AD [Alzheimer’s disease] with multiple AVD [atherosclerotic vascular disease] risk factors suggests that cholesterol is not the sole culprit in dementia.” As I discuss in my video Higher Blood Pressure May Lead to Brain Shrinkage, one of the most consistent findings is that elevated levels of blood pressure in midlife, ages 40 through 60, is associated with elevated risk of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s dementia later in life—in fact, even more so than having the so-called Alzheimer’s gene. “The normal arterial tree”—all the blood vessels in the brain—“is…designed as both a conduit and cushion.” But when the artery walls become stiffened, the pressure from the pulse every time our heart pumps blood up into our brain can damage small vessels in our brain. This can cause “microbleeds” in our brain, which are frequently found in people with high blood pressure, even if they were never diagnosed with a stroke. These microbleeds may be “one of the important factors that cause cognitive impairments,” “perhaps not surprising[ly],” because on autopsy, “microbleeds may be associated with [brain] tissue necrosis,” meaning brain tissue death. And speaking of tissue death, high blood pressure is also associated with so-called lacunar infarcts, from the Latin word lacuna, meaning hole. These holes in our brain appear when little arteries get clogged in the brain and result in the death of a little round region of the brain. Up to a quarter of the elderly have these little mini-strokes, and most don’t even know it, so-called silent infarcts. But “no black holes in the brain are benign.” As you can see at 2:12 in my video, it’s as though your brain has been hole-punched. “Although silent infarcts, by definition, lack clinically overt stroke-like symptoms, they are associated with subtle deficits in physical and cognitive function that commonly go unnoticed.” What’s more, they can double the risk of dementia. That’s one of the ways high blood pressure is linked to dementia. There’s so much damage that high blood pressure levels can “lead to brain volume reduction,” literally a shrinkage of our brain, “specifically in the hippocampus,” the memory center of the brain. This helps explain how high blood pressure can be involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. As you can see at 3:02 in my video, we can actually visualize the little arteries in the back of our eyes using an ophthalmoscope, providing “a noninvasive window” to study the health of our intracranial arteries, the little vessels inside our head. Researchers “found a significant association” between visualized arterial disease and brain shrinkage on MRI. However, because that was a cross-sectional study, just a snapshot in time, you can’t prove cause and effect. What’s needed is a prospective study, following people over time. And that’s just what the researchers did. Over a ten-year period, those with visual signs of arterial disease were twice as likely to suffer a significant loss of brain tissue volume over time. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Greger click here.

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Scientists Develop Peptides that Restore Balance in Gut Bacteria and Reverse Atherosclerosis

AHA Publisher — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 07:00:56 +0000

Angela Betsaida B. Laguipo, BSN via News-Medical Net – Researchers continue to explore the role of gut bacteria on health, including its link to depression, autoimmune diseases, mental health, and obesity. Now, a team of scientists at Scripps Research has developed new molecules that can restore the balance in gut bacteria in the intestines and as a result, lowers cholesterol levels and reverses the narrowing of the arteries, also known as atherosclerosis. What Is Atherosclerosis? Atherosclerosis is the narrowing of the arteries, preventing blood flow. It is a condition in which plaque builds up inside the arteries, which are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to vital organs, such as the heart, brain, and kidneys. It also delivers oxygen and nutrients to cells throughout the body. Plaque contains cholesterol, fat, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. When the plaque takes over the arterial wall, it limits blood flow, which can lead to serious problems, including stroke, heart attack, and even death. Novel Molecules The findings of the study, published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, show that the molecules, called peptides, can slow the growth of bad gut bacteria. The team wanted to explore how some conditions can be prevented through remodeling or reshaping the communities of bacteria in the gut. The gut microbiome is a dense population, containing trillions of bacteria that co-exist with other human cells to help with digestion, metabolism, brain health, and immune function. The researchers also wanted to investigate how a typical Western diet rich in fats, sugar, and carbohydrates can impact the gut bacteria in ways that lead to the development of high cholesterol levels and eventually, atherosclerosis. The Study Findings To arrive at the findings, the study involved mice that were bred to be vulnerable to high cholesterol, and the team fed them with a Western-style diet that bought on atherosclerosis and changes in their gut microbiome. The team then created a set of molecules that slowed the growth of less-desirable species of gut bacteria. The results of the study show that the peptides effectively shifted the balance of species in the gut microbiome in mice who had high cholesterol levels. In turn, the reshaped gut microbiome has led to lowered cholesterol levels. Further, it helped slow down the buildup of plaques or fatty deposits in the arteries. “It was surprising to us that simply remodeling the gut microbiome can have such an extensive effect,” Dr. Reza Ghadiri, a professor in the Department of Chemistry at Scripps Research, said. Gut Microbiome and Human Health The gut microbiome has been tied to various conditions and diseases. Many scientists believe that controlling and reshaping gut bacteria can have many health benefits. Symbiosis, the balance of the species in the gut, is essential in promoting overall health and well-being in humans. Over the past decades, the gut microbiome of symbiotic bacteria has become the focus of studies across the globe. Scientists believe that symbiosis can also alter human health, especially when people misuse antibiotics and consume high fat, sugar, and carbohydrate foods, just like Western-style diets. Hence, gut microbiome imbalance has been tied to conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and atherosclerosis, which all contribute to life-threatening and chronic diseases. The study authors believe that using the novel molecules can help prevent atherosclerosis, and eventually, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. “Our approach, using small molecules called cyclic peptides, is inspired by nature. Our cells naturally use a diverse collection of molecules, including antimicrobial peptides to regulate our gut microbe populations,” Dr. Luke Leman, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at Scripps Research, and co-author of the study said. The team suggests that the study findings can help in developing therapeutics in reversing atherosclerosis and preventing chronic diseases. “Directed chemical manipulation provides an additional tool for deciphering the chemical biology of the gut microbiome and might advance microbiome-targeted therapeutics,” the researchers wrote in the paper. To read the original article click here.

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The Fight Goes On: Clinical Trial Shows Promising New Treatment for Rare Blood Cancer

AHA Publisher — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 07:00:26 +0000

Nagoya University via EurekAlert – Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that develops from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). It has many subtypes. A rare subtype, called intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (or IVLBCL) is notably hard to diagnose accurately because the cancerous lymphocytes grow inside small blood vessels, instead of at lymph nodes, and there is no perceptible swelling/enlargement of lymph nodes. There is also no effective treatment: the disease tends to affect the elderly, for whom standard high-dose chemotherapy may have serious side-effects, and patients are at a high risk of developing subsequent central nervous system (CNS) disorders even with treatment. A novel treatment protocol with fewer side-effects and which also tackles secondary CNS involvement is needed, and this is exactly what a group of scientists, led by researchers from Nagoya University and Mie University, Japan, attempted to test in a new clinical trial. All of this being said, however, the rarity of this disease has made testing new combinations of drugs difficult. A previous “retrospective” study involving the analysis of medical records of patients who had undergone standard chemotherapy combined with a drug called “rituximab” showed that this line of treatment is more promising than standard treatment alone, but it does not solve the problem of secondary CNS involvement. “We considered that rituximab-containing chemotherapies combined with treatment for the secondary CNS problems could lead to further improvement in the clinical outcome,” remarks Dr Kazuyuki Shimada of Nagoya University. With this consideration, Dr Shimada and team conducted a Phase 2 multicenter clinical trial, where they administered their proposed treatment to 38 enrolled patients (aged 20 to 79 years and without CNS disorders at the time of cancer diagnosis) and monitored their conditions over the long term. The results are published in their paper in The Lancet Oncology Overall, their treatment protocol appears to be promising: 76% of the enrolled patients reached the primary goal of two-year survival without disease progression and 92% reached two-year overall survival. The disease affected the CNS in only 3% of patients. What’s more, the toxicity of the treatment was found to be low, and all adverse effects were manageable, with very few serious complications. Aptly summarizing their achievement, Dr Shimada says: “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ‘prospective’ trial of any treatment in patients with IVLBCL. It appears that the proposed treatment protocol might be effective in patients without apparent central nervous system involvement at the time of diagnosis.” An important advantage of the proposed treatment protocol is that it employs a combination of conventional drugs and uses no novel agents. This means that although further study is necessary, this protocol can be adopted in clinical practice in the very near future. As Dr Shimada explains: “Given the rarity of this disease, a large-scale Phase 3 prospective trial is not feasible. In such a scenario, the results of our trial provide a safe and effective treatment option that can function as a historic control for future prospective trials.” The findings of this clinical trial are certainly quite promising. With only minor refinements to the proposed treatment protocol, patients with IVLBCL could have an edge in their fight against cancer. To read the original article click here.

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