Health News (Week 24 – 2013)
By Robert Redfern

The majority of weekly emails and questions I get involve heart/vascular disease and strokes. This isn’t surprising because they are the Number 1 cause of premature death. They still far exceed the huge rise of deaths from cancer (in spite of the multi billions spent on so-called ‘research’).

One of the questions I get asked, are about ‘stents’ or ‘stints’, as they are alternately called.

Stents are wire mesh inserts that are inserted in the clogged artery after a blockage has been gouged out, using a boring tool. This process is called angioplasty, which makes it sound much healthier than simply gouging!

The majority of questions after the event are ‘what now?’

The answer is always the same. Namely that stents are simply temporary fixes and the correct recovery plan (that should have been followed in the first place) still has to be followed.

To Stent or not to Stent?

Recently a few emails asked me for my opinion as to whether to take their doctors advice and have a stent installed. They were advised by their doctor, that having angioplasty and stents, would “cut their risk of premature death”. They understandably needed an alternative opinion. Either way, I felt I could not give proper advice but I have done my research since then and what I found was really surprising..…….

The following refers to what is called ‘Stable Angina’, simply, you are in pain but not immediately life threatening.

  1. Firstly this simple procedure results in 1 death out of every 100 patients treated. I bet the doctor did not tell you that?
  2. Secondly, only 30% of those that have the procedure get relief from their angina. I bet the doctor did not tell you that?
  3. Lastly, recent studies and meta analysis show that after five years it is obvious that the operation makes no difference to your risk of premature death and you were just as likely to die whether you have the procedure or not. I bet the doctor did not tell you that?

This makes a huge difference to my opinion as to Stent or not to Stent.

The people in these studies who did not have the procedure were not taking:
Serrapeptase, Nattokinase, Curcumin, Magnesium Oil, Vitamin E, Ubiquinol, Vitamin K2, (especially as doctors tell them not to take K2) and Krill Oil.

I guarantee they were not told by their doctor to stop eating carbs. and other junk foods and change to a Mediterranean diet.

My opinion now is if you have Stable Angina and since it makes no difference to your mortality over 5 years, then you may be advised to get started with my recovery plan, as detailed in my book.

For the products that I recommend for heart health please click here. There are multi-packs available from Good Health Naturally – see the ‘Basic’, ‘Advanced’ and ‘Ultimate’ packs for heart disease support.

The success is in the detail and there is nothing to lose. You need to follow my plan or another plan – whether you decide to have a stent or not. If you are considering a stent or have had one, feel free to contact me with any further questions.

PS. Some of the research that I came across is referenced below:

Proof Stents do not work any better than medical treatments: Boden WE et al COURAGE Trial Research Group. Optimal medical therapy with or without PCI for stable CVry disease. N Eng J Med 2007;356(15):1503-1516

The COURAGE trial led to a massive debate. In 2008 Dr Megan Coylewright and Collaborators reviewed the ten years before the COURAGE trial and came to a similar conclusion after reviewing relevant trials. They found that most studies showed that invasive procedures do not decrease mortality or risk of myocardial infarction over optimal medical or lifestyle therapy in patients with stable CVry heart disease.

Their conclusion was: “The final word is not that medical therapy is superior for all patients, but that optimizing medical and lifestyle therapy is appropriate as an initial management strategy for most patients who do not have unstable or disabling symptoms.”

Proof a Lifestyle Plan works better than stents and medical treatment (and they did not use serrapeptase, nattokinase etc)

The first controlled randomized study documenting reversal of CVry narrowing with lifestyle changes was performed by Blankenhorn in 1990. Blankenhorn Can atherosclerotic lesions regress? Angiographic evidence in humans.1990 Amer J Cardiol. 65(12)41F-43F

Dean Ornish, a clinical professor of Medicine at the University of California and private physician to the Clintons, as early as 1990 in a randomized controlled study had also showed reversal of CVry narrowing after one year of treatment. All his patients were placed on a plant-based diet which included fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products. Most patients in the control group (not following the plant diet) had narrower CVry arteries at the end of the trial than at the start. According to his research if people don’t change their lifestyle within 4 to 6 months of an angioplasty, 40% of the angioplastied arteries will have clogged up. After 4 years of the vegetarian diet there was even further improvement and reversal of the narrowing. Ninety percent of the patients who were eligible for bypass surgery and angioplasty were able to avoid the operation if they went on the diet programme and other lifestyle modifications. For every dollar spent there was a saving of $5.55.

Ornish D et al Can lifestyle changes reverse CVry heart disease?Lancet.1990;336(8708):129-33

Ornish D et al Intensive lifestyle changes for reversal of CVry heart disease.JAMA.1998;280(23):2001-7

Ornish D Avoiding revascularization with lifestyle changes: The Multicenter Lifestyle Demonstration Project. Am J Cardiol 82(103):72T-76T