Eliminating Heart Disease Naturally Thru Nitric Oxide Therapy

Archive for Stroke Prevention

L-Arginine and Nitric Oxide Helps Diabetic Health Issues

Posted by Dan Hammer //

05/22/2021

L-Arginine and Nitric Oxide Helps Diabetic Health Issues

From the research it’s clear that diabetics produce less nitric oxide, which may be a contributing factor in the following health concerns:

High Blood Pressure
Increased Risk for Heart Disease
Increased Risk for Stroke
Poor Kidney Function
Poor Wound Healing
Nephropathy
And Atherosclerosis

Today’s post is going to examine the question, “Can L-arginine and Nitric Oxide Address Multiple Health Issues in Diabetics?”

Now before we get started let’s get a clear picture on nitric oxide and L-arginine.

Nitric oxide is a signaling molecule created in your vascular system to help regulate circulation. It is a vasodilator, which relaxes the smooth muscle of the vascular wall.

This action improves blood flow. Improved blood flow helps to:

Bring blood pressure back into the normal range.

Reduces your risk for strokes and heart attacks.

And improves blood flow to the kidneys to help them function better.

Already three diabetic concerns have been addressed.

(If you would prefer to view this information in a video format, then please click on my YouTube video below:)

L-arginine is a key amino acid that helps regulate 7 different metabolic pathways in your body. One pathway is the creation of nitric oxide. This means it’s a critical component for good cardiovascular health.

L-arginine is also needed for proper elimination of urea. And plays a key role in kidney function.

Here is a link to a PubMed article titled “L-arginine as a therapeutic tool in kidney disease.”

The proper combination of both L-arginine and nitric oxide helps to improve kidney function. Read More →

2 Primary Pathways for Nitric Oxide

Posted by Dan Hammer //

04/22/2021

In your cardiovascular system there are two primary pathways for the creation of nitric oxide. They are:

The Nitrate Nitrite Pathway
The Endothelial Pathway

Today we’ll examine each so that you can better understand how to harness the benefits of nitric oxide for improved cardiovascular health.

(If you would prefer to view this information in a video format, then please click on my YouTube video below:)

Both of these pathways are valid for the creation of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a signaling molecule. It’s used by your vascular system to improve blood flow. This molecule has three primary benefits:

First is vasodilation, which relaxes the smooth muscles of the blood vessels so that they expand. This improves the deliver of oxygen and nutrients. As well as aids in the removal of cellular waste. And, it can be a natural way to lower blood pressure back into the normal range.

Additionally, men cannot have an erection without nitric oxide so sexual health is also dependent on your nitric oxide levels.

Second, nitric oxide keeps blood platelet cells from sticking together, which naturally reduces your risk for strokes and heart attacks.

Third, nitric oxide helps to initiate repair mechanisms to keep the lining of your vascular system, what is call the endothelium, healthy and functioning.

Now, let me give you an overview of each pathway. Then at the end, I’ll give you my opinion on which pathway can benefit you the most. Read More →

Vitamin D and Heart Health

Posted by Dan Hammer //

05/15/2020

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about CoVid19 and Vitamin D Deficiency. Today I want to focus on vitamin D and heart health.

Additional studies are showing how optimizing your vitamin D intake can help to prevent both heart disease and stroke. And it seems to do this by:

Improving endothelial function
Reducing arterial stiffening

Vitamin D does this by increasing your endothelium’s ability to create nitric oxide. Nitric oxide dilates your blood vessels to improved blood flow.

Additionally, vitamin D helps to decrease the destructive chemical compound called peroxynitrite, which can cause inflammation that leads to arterial stiffness.

Researchers at the Nanomedical Research Laboratory at Ohio University conducted a study that examined this relationship between nitric oxide and peroxynitrite. For simplicity, please remember the following:

Nitric oxide is good
Peroxynitrite is bad

In their study, the researcher introduced a human hormone called angiotensin-II. This hormone causes endothelial dysfunction. The result was a decrease in nitric oxide and an increase in peroxynitrite.

When vitamin D3 was introduced, this was significantly reversed. There was a 10 fold increase in nitric oxide and a 10 fold decrease in peroxynitrite.

This study suggests that by maintaining normal levels of vitamin D in your blood stream, you can help to maintain normal endothelial function. This helps your body to properly produce nitric oxide for improved blood flow.

And, normal levels of vitamin D help to prevent the destructive peroxynitrite, which can cause vascular inflammation that leads to arterial stiffness.

So the question becomes:

How much vitamin D to you need to take to see a benefit? Read More →

NO More Heart Disease Book Review

Posted by Dan Hammer //

02/08/2020

The book NO More Heart Disease by Nobel Laureate in Medicine Dr. Louis J. Ignarro was key to helping me understand the power and effectiveness of nitric oxide therapy.

Back in 2008 I first came upon this concept of using nitric oxide to improve blood flow.

While my background is exercise physiology, I had never heard of what has become know as “The Miracle Molecule.”

I had been told that nitric oxide would help me improve my workouts and athletic performance. At that time I still played competitive indoor soccer at the age of 55. He was in a men’s over 40 league. And when I consistently used ingredients that would help me optimize my nitric oxide production, what I experienced was greater endurance on the soccer court.

More importantly I didn’t have soreness the next day after a competitive match.

I then got my wife to address her high blood pressure with nitric oxide. Prior to taking ingredients that would help optimize this Miracle Molecule, her blood pressure averaged 160 over 90. Within one week her blood pressure lowered to 112 over 68 and has been at this level ever since.

My experience, and the experience of my wife, prompted me to learn about this remarkable molecule for vascular health.

Enter NO More Heart Disease

The book that was recommended to me (and I recommend it to you) was Dr. Ignarro’s book called NO More Heart Disease. It was originally published in 2005 but I feel it is still the best book written to date to help people understand how significant this molecule is to their health.

In fact, Dr. Ignarro makes no bones about it. He firmly believes nitric oxide is key to your health.

If you look at the cover of his book, then you will see the subtitle, which states: Read More →

To Stent Or Not To Stent

Posted by Dan Hammer //

11/22/2019

To stent or not to stent has recently become public news with the release of the ISCHEMIA study. This study has create headlines like this one from The Washington Post:

“Stents and bypass surgery are no more effective than drugs for stable heart disease, highly anticipated trial results show”

or this headline from CBS News:

“Medication and lifestyle changes could be as effective as surgery for heart disease, trail finds”

This newly released trial was led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Stanford University. They looked at over 5,000 patients who had heart blockages but were stable. And what they found can be summarized as follows:

Placing a stent in a patient with stable blockages could improve a patient’s quality of life by reducing their symptoms like chest pain.
But when compared to taking medications or implementing lifestyle changes, stenting didn’t lower their risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Needless to say this study has caused a significant reaction in the medical community. According to Harvard Medical School “about 600,000 people in the United States undergo an angioplasty to widen a narrowed coronary artery, nearly always with a tiny wire mesh tube (stent) left inside the artery to keep it open.”

This is not an inexpensive procedure.

To Stent or Not To Stent – The Numbers

The average cost for this procedure (angioplasty with the placement of a stent) is around $29,000.

This means that this medical procedure is a 17.4 billion dollar industry. It’s a major income stream for both interventional cardiologist and hospitals.

In response to the release of this study Elliot Antman, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital made the following statement:

“The ISCHEMIA trial shows that an early invasive approach does not protect patients against death or the overall chance of a heart attack, but does effectively relieve chest pain – the more chest pain a patient has, the more likely they are to benefit.”

Now before we demonize interventional cardiologist and hospitals it’s important to note the following key words that apply to this trial:

“. . .who had heart blockages but were stable.”

Stable heart blockages is the key piece of information.

Going back to the Harvard Medical School they estimate that approximately “two-thirds of these procedures are done in people experiencing a potentially life-threatening event – a heart attack or unstable angina, defined as severe, worsening chest pain during exertion or stress, or chest pain that happens at rest.”

One-third of 600,000 is 198,000 people who might find other alternatives like medications and lifestyle changes to be as effective as stenting in keeping themselves alive. That could be a 5.7 billion dollar savings per year.

To Sent or Not To Sent – What is Stable Heart Blockages

Most vascular blockages are due to a process called atherosclerosis. This usually starts with very low density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol) being oxidized by free radicals. This creates inflammation and damage to the endothelium resulting in plaque formation. Over time this plaque continues to grow, which narrows the inside of the artery.

There is usually a fibrous cap to this plaque. This fibrous cap provides structure to the plaque.

However, unstable plaque or vulnerable plaque has a thin fibrous cap usually formed from a collection of white blood cells and lipids like bad cholesterol. And if free radical damage is continuing to occur, then the resulting inflammation makes this cap even more vulnerable for a rupture.

This rupture can then form a blood clot, or release cellular debris, that can then lead to a blockage resulting in a heart attack or stroke. If you remember Tim Russert from Meet The Press, then his heart attack and death would be a good example of this process.

There are certain biomarkers that can help you and your physician determine the increased probability of plaque being unstable. They are:

c-Reactive Protein

Oxidized LDL

Both of these are due to inflammation. Oxidized LDL is usually due to free radical damage.

Which gives a strong clue to lifestyle changes that can address this. One lifestyle change would be to significantly increase your intake of fruits, vegetables, and herbal extracts that are powerful antioxidants.

As well as eliminating as many omega 6 fatty acids from your diet and replacing them with omega 3 fatty acids.

Sugar and highly processed foods also contribute to vascular inflammation.

These 3 lifestyle changes can significantly improve your health while reducing the potential for oxidized LDL and vascular inflammation. All of which can help to stabilize any plaque in the vascular system.

And as I’ve share multiple times in previous articles, nitric oxide therapy can help to vasodilate the vascular system for improved blood flow. This would then help those who are experiencing chest pain and angina.

Blessing Lives Through Nitric Oxide Therapy!

Dan Hammer

Endothelial Health Equals Cardiovascular Health!

Posted by Dan Hammer //

08/15/2019

When was the last time anyone ever asked you about your endothelial health?

NEVER!

It’s estimated that there are approximately 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the adult body. These blood vessels include arteries, veins, and capillaries. They’re all protected by a microscopic inner lining of endothelial cells. What is commonly called the endothelium.

It’s important to note that these cells line the entire circulatory system. From the inside of your heart all the way down to your smallest capillary. When added up, the volume of these endothelial cells would cover the surface area of 4 to 8 tennis courts depending upon the size of the individual.

That’s amazing since the endothelium is only one cell thick and can’t be seen by the human eye.

Once discovered, the endothelium was classified as an inert membrane whose primary function was to keep the blood in the circulatory system and out of the body’s tissues and organs.

Research over the last 25 years has shown that your endothelium is an active, multi-functional tissue that plays a vital role in metabolic, immunologic, and cardiovascular health.

Or is your endothelium an organ? Read More →

Health Benefits of Pomegranate

Posted by Dan Hammer //

04/15/2019

This article is going to give an overview of the health benefits of pomegranate. This amazing fruit is recognized in the Bible as one of the Blessings the Promised Land would provide for the Israeli people as they entered into this land. Here’s the Scriptural context:

“For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey.” Deuteronomy 8:7-8

As modern day science continues to study this fruit, their research is showing that the health benefits of pomegranate center on two primary health issues:

Cardiovascular Health
Cancer Prevention

Let’s look at each so that you can see why this amazing fruit should be part of your daily diet.

Health Benefits of Pomegranate – Cardiovascular Health

Your cardiovascular health centers on the function of a tissue that lines all of your cardiovascular system. That tissue is called the endothelium.

This is a one-cell thick layer that lines the inside of all of your blood vessels. Your capillaries are just extensions of this endothelium. In fact, it is the largest tissue in your body. Let me give you a point of reference:

If you took your endolhelium out of your body and laid it flat out, depending on the size of the adult individual, it would cover the surface area of 3 to 6 tennis courts.

And the healthier your endothelium, the healthier your capillary function for improved blood flow.

Damage to your endothelium increases your risk for all types of cardiovascular disease. There are 4 main factors that damage your endothelium:

High Blood Pressure
High Blood Sugar
LDL Cholesterol or more specifically oxidized LDL Cholesterol
Nicotine

The health benefits of pomegranate focus mainly on preventing oxidized LDL cholesterol, reversing plaque formations that result from oxidized LDL, and enhancing the ability of the eNOS enzymes of the endothelium to produce higher levels of nitric oxide to dilate your blood vessels for improved blood flow.

Most statin drugs work to lower cholesterol and do a good job in accomplishing this objective. The problem is they do not work effectively in reducing the cause of plaque, which is oxidized LDL cholesterol. Oxidized LDL cholesterol creates inflammation that then leads to the formation of plaque. As this plaque grows over time, the inside of your vascular system narrows.

This narrowing then increases your risk for a stroke or heart attack.

Your body has natural mechanism to protect you from this sequence. And this is where the health benefits of pomegranate extract show up:

Protect LDL molecules from being oxidized
Moderate the effects of inflammatory white blood cells and their role in plaque formation
Boost your natural antioxidant systems to protect your endothelium from free radical damage
Initiate vascular repair systems to help remove oxidized LDL from your arterial walls
Enhance eNOS enzymes for greater production of nitric oxide

Additionally, a 2014 study showed that the combination of pomegranate extract with the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin significantly lowered both oxidized LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

For more details on the health benefits of pomegranate on cardiovascular health please click here.

Health Benefits of Pomegranate – Cancer Prevention

New studies are expanding the health benefits of pomegranate to cancer prevention. Pomegranate contains these key compounds:

Punicalagin
Luteolin
Ellagitannins
Polyphenols

These compounds help to initiate multiple pathways in cancer prevention. Primarily because they inhibit inflammation. But it goes beyond this.

Research in the health benefits of pomegranate, as it applies to cancer cells, has shown the following:

Block cell cycle – pomegranate can help to shut off the cancer cell’s ability to divide by targeting specific cancer genes needed for cell replication. But doesn’t effect healthy cells.

Induce cell death – compounds in pomegranate directly cause programmed death of cancer cells.

Blocks blood vessel formation that feed cancer cells – blood vessels are needed to support cancer growth in tumors. Pomegranate selectively blocks the needed growth factors to help limit the formation of new blood vessels in a tumor.

Preventing the spread of cancer – pomegranate helps to inhibit multiple factors, which then helps to prevent the spread of cancer to other parts of the body.

Two specific cancers that have promising studies in helping to prevent them and their spread are prostate and breast cancer.

And there are ongoing studies on how pomegranate can help in the prevention of leukemia, bladder, brain, cervix, colon, liver, lung, skin, and thyroid cancers.

Plus, there are additional studies that show pomegranate aiding conventional cancer treatments like chemotherapy. These ongoing studies seem to indicate that pomegranate enhances the cancer-killing effect of the drug while helping to protect normal cells.

For more details on the health benefits of pomegranate on cancer prevention please click here.

Personally, I’ve been using pomegranate fruit extract for over 10 years. I use it to help me enjoy the benefits as it applies to cardiovascular health. It’s good to know that it’s also helping me with cancer prevention.

Blessing Lives Through Nitric Oxide Therapy!

Dan Hammer

An Aspirin a Day – Not Any More!

Posted by Dan Hammer //

03/22/2019

An aspirin a day has now become a big controversy in the medical and pharmaceutical industry. What has been preached in TV ads, and at doctor offices, has been thrown out the window.

At least for a large segment of the population.

This controversy around an aspirin a day has created the following headlines. From Yahoo Health News we get:

“Don’t take an aspirin a day to prevent heart attacks and strokes: Doctors reverse recommendation”

Now if you didn’t read the article you would think this applies to all people. And that aspirin can’t prevent heart attacks and strokes.

The following headline from USA Today is more accurate to the newly published study:

“Low-dose aspirin has no effect, causes harm in some older people, study says”

Sounds a bit like Yoda from Star Wars talking about this new study.

Well before we talk about the study, I want you to understand that this controversy is not new. In fact, I created a YouTube video on this topic 6 years ago. And my opening statement is,

“There is a new medical controversy about the use of aspirin for the prevention of heart disease especially in the area of preventing heart attacks and strokes.”

I’ve placed this video below. As you can see by the title “Aspirin vs Nitric Oxide for the Prevention of Blood Clots”, there is a natural ingredient that your body produces that keeps blood platelet cells from sticking together.

Learning how to optimize your nitric oxide levels can help you naturally reduce your risk for heart attacks and strokes.

As Aspirin a Day – Current Study

Let’s get back to the current controversy about an aspirin a day and what this new study actually says. The title for this study is:

Effect of Aspirin on Disability-free Survival in the Healthy Elderly

There were over 19,000 people in this study with a median age of 74 years old. They were randomly assigned to receive either an aspirin or a placebo.

The study showed that the rate of death, dementia, or persistent physical disability was almost identical for both groups. For the aspirin groups it was 21.5 per 1000 people and 21.2 per 1000 people for the placebo group.

And compliance was not the issue. In the final year of this study the participation percentage was close to being identical. 62.1% for the aspirin group and 64.1% for the placebo group.

And here is the stated conclusions taken directly from this study about an aspirin a day:

CONCLUSIONS

Aspirin use in healthy elderly persons did not prolong disability-free survival over a period of 5 years but led to a higher rate of major hemorrhage than placebo.

As you can see from these conclusions, the authors of this study do not believe an aspirin provides any benefit to older adults in lowering their risk for disease. And that the use of aspirin increased the probability of experiencing major hemorrhaging.

Which is want the video I produced 6 years ago was all about.

Now there have been additional articles written to help people adopt lifestyle changes that will reduce their risk for heart attacks and strokes. Here’s one just posted on March 19, 2019 with the following headline:

Aspirin is out. Here’s how healthy older adults can prevent heart attacks, strokes without pills

And the 4 lifestyle changes the author recommended were:

Eat these foods (mainly plant based nutrition)
Regularly exercise
Keep a healthy weight
Don’t smoke

And while all of these recommendations are good, this author and the medical profession still do not list nitric oxide therapy as a valid way to help keep blood platelet cells from sticking together to naturally reduce your risk for a stroke or heart attack.

I’m a firm believer that nitric oxide naturally does what aspirin tries to do. But without the negative side effects. So watch the video above. This way you can make your own decision on what you should do to help lower your risk.

Blessing Lives Through Nitric Oxide Therapy!

Dan Hammer

Stroke – Gone at the Age of 52 Luke Perry

Posted by Dan Hammer //

03/08/2019

There has been a lot of press over the last week about the actor Luke Perry dying from a massive stroke. What makes this even more tragic is that Mr. Perry was only 52 years of age.

The image above was taken on March 31 of 2017. Who would have thought that less than 2 years later Luke Perry would be dead from a massive stroke.

Now I don’t know Mr. Perry. Nor am I familiar with his work.

But what I am familiar with is the devastating effects of a stroke. If it doesn’t kill you, then it will dramatically affect the quality of your life. And whether you live or die it will certainly impact your family and friends.

So rather than write another article about strokes, I’d prefer to point you in the direction of some educationally pieces I’ve done in the past to help educate you on the prevention of strokes. And what conditions to look for to quickly identify a stroke victim. And how to assess your risk for a stroke.

Below you will find links and images that will help you and your loved ones understand this important health topic.

Stroke Prevention – How Nitric Oxide Therapy Can Reduce Your Risk for Stroke

Please watch the video below to understand how nitric oxide therapy can help reduce your risk for a stroke. Then share this video with others.

Stroke Warning Signs – The STR Poster

Click on the image below and then download The STR Poster or print it off as a reminder on what to look for to quickly assess if a person has had a stroke. Please share The STR Poster with others.

The Stroke Risk Assessment Tool

Use the Stroke Risk Assessment Tool to help you determine your risk for a stroke. Just CLICK HERE to go to the blog post that contains this stroke risk assessment tool. Please share this with others.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Blessing Lives Through Nitric Oxide Therapy!

Dan Hammer

Stroke Warning Signs – The STR Poster

Posted by Dan Hammer //

07/22/2018

There are 3 key stroke warning signs and to help you remember them we’ve created The STR Poster. These 3 key stroke warning signs are:

Smile

Talk

Raise

I would encourage you to download The STR Poster and then share it with family and friends. Help them to remember the 3 key stroke warning signs so that they can help save a life and reduce the potential for long term disability.

Click on this link for The STR Poster. This will open a PDF. Read More →