To the heart of the matter

Vicky Rizothanassis, Naturopathic Doctor

Heart disease and stroke are often caused by modifiable risk factors related to poor diet and lifestyle choices such as smoking, lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating habits and excess body weight. Many people are walking into my office with multiple health concerns related to these problems. Among the highest are high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure. These concerns on their own pose risks to one’s health, however, having more than one of these increases one’s risk of cardiovascular disease considerably - so much so that they have grouped them together and given it a name.

Metabolic syndrome, also known as Syndrome X, is a group of risk factors that increase a person’s risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Metabolic syndrome includes three or more of the following criteria:1

Abdominal obesity (waist circumference: men > 102 cm, women > 88 cm)
Triglycerides = 1.7 mmol/L
HDL (men < 1.0 mmol/L, women < 1.3 mmol/L)
BP > 130/85 mm Hg
Fasting glucose 5.7-6.9 mmol/L

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society and the American Heart Association recommend lifestyle intervention changes as first-line therapy the first treatment for the management of metabolic syndrome as there is “insufficient evidence to recommend the use of drugs as first-line therapy for treating the underlying causes”.2

Implementing strategies for dietary and lifestyle modification to achieve weight loss, blood pressure control, healthy cholesterol and blood sugar levels have proven beneficial in reversing and reducing the risk of CVD.3,4

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For a consultation, please contact Vicky Rizothanassis BSc ND, at the West-Island Integrative Health Centre, www.integrativehealthcentre.ca. One of our licensed health professionals will help you make the lifestyle changes needed to be a healthier you. For all your organic nutrition and supplements needs, please visit Healthtree at 3827 Saint Jean Blvd. in Dollard-des-Ormeaux or online at www.healthtree.ca.

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References

1. McPherson R, Frohlich J, Fodor G, Genest J, Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Canadian Cardiovascular Society position statement--recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of dyslipidemia and prevention of cardiovascular disease. Canadian Journal of Cardiology. 2006 Sep;22(11):913-27.

2. Grundy SM, Cleeman JI, Daniels SR, et al. Diagnosis and management of the metabolic syndrome: An American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute scientific statement. Circulation 2005;112(17):2735-52.

3. Castro JP, El-Atat FA, McFarlane SI, Aneja A, Sowers JR. Cardiometabolic syndrome: pathophysiology and treatment. Curr Hypertens Rep. 2003 Oct;5(5):393-401. Review.

4. Krauss RM, Eckel RH, Howard B, Appel LJ, Daniels SR, Deckelbaum RJ, Erdman JW Jr, Kris-Etherton P, Goldberg IJ, Kotchen TA, Lichtenstein AH, Mitch WE, Mullis R, Robinson K, Wylie-Rosett J, St Jeor S, Suttie J, Tribble DL, Bazzarre TL. AHA Dietary Guidelines: revision 2000: A statement for healthcare professionals from the Nutrition Committee of the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2000 Oct 31;102(18):2284-99.

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