Dr Ford Brewer - PrevMed

CIMT works. You can actually see, and measure, the amount & types of plaque in your arteries. Studies show that it helps up to 40% of adults realize they have plaque - even though their doc thought they were "low risk".

Which technique is better: Mean Max vs Common IMT (arterial age)? It turns out that both are important in assessing risk for cardiovascular events. We cover two studies comparing these techniques. One was a meta-analysis.

We also show examples and images clarifying that CIMT helps us understand our CV risk MUCH better.

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Mean-common-or-mean-maximum-carotid-intima-media-as-Dogan-Kastelein/331fbd1b7df7136cf3641640d6000c483a46fc85?p2df

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021915017302265

Doctors all knew that niacin helps - until the AIM-HIGH study. It was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2012. Even though the study author warned against the mistake of over-simplifying to patients' disadvantage, the medical standards groups did it anyway.

Did they "throw the baby out with the bathwater?" What was it about the AIM-HIGH study that confused the issue? too short a time frame? the extended-release component? the statin intervention? How about the safety signal? This video covers these issues and more.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1311039

If AIM HIGH weren't enough, then HPS2-THRIVE came along, also showing negative results for a niacin trial. Again, this was with a supplement known for decades - and with dozens of studies - to work. What was it this time? Laropripant? Time frame? We also do a brief preview.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1300955

Read more about the niacin debate here:

https://prevmedhealth.com/does-niacin-work-the-great-niacin-debate/

Go to this website. PrevMedHealth.com. The course is free (for now). And you'll get to know your numbers. Do you have CV inflammation creating plaque? are your arteries taking "friendly fire" from your immune system, attacking and inflaming oxidized LDL plaque between the Intima & Media layers of your arteries? You can find this out.

Again, our part's free. Whatever lab you choose will charge you for their part. Ask them how much before you get it done. We will probably charge for this at some point. We want the practice to support itself so we can get this information out to more people. But we're not charging now. We would appreciate it if you give us feedback on the course. What do you like? What do you not like? What should we add, take away, change...

Heart attacks, strokes, and dementia are your biggest enemies. They are more likely to destroy your life than anything else. And yet, these are preventable. It's up to you.

It all starts when you KNOW YOUR NUMBERS!

Iron Deficiency Anemia is perhaps the most common micronutrient deficiency worldwide. Women and children have the issue. Women do because of routine menstrual blood loss. Children tend to have it from birth up to age 10; they outgrow their iron stores. Infectious causes such as malaria, gut parasites and HIV are important as well. It's actually a major cause of disability and even death. The disability is far more than fatigue. Iron deficiency is a major cause of failure of cognitive development globally.

Coronary calcium testing is a CT technology. Therefore, there is significant radiation. Many people warn of the risk. It has been estimated as 1 in 1000 LIFETIME risk of cancer.

However, look at the comparison. The risk of heart attack and stroke with untreated plaque is 40% to 80% IN 10 YEARS. We're talking very different ballparks of risk; although there is radiation risk, it's nowhere near the risk we're stratifying with cardiovascular disease. The risk does underline a significant point about use.

Have you wondered why you don't see nomograms starting at age 5 or even 1 for calcium scores? The radiation risk. A nomogram is an age curve. It's drawn from the results of large studies of normals. Because of the radiation, you'll never see nomogram studies of young healthy people with Calcium scores.

Coronary calcium score has some risk from radiation, but it's negligible compared to having plaque in your arteries. By far the most commonly used screening tool is a stress test. I usually don't recommend it. The false-negative rates are way too high, resulting in common examples of events and death following a false negative stress test. A well-known example happened with news anchor Tim Russert.

CIMT also has challenges with the standardization of techniques & interpretation. But by far the biggest challenge with CIMT is accessed. It's by far the best screening tool. And, by the way - there is no radiation - it's ultrasound.

Todd Eldredge is the founder of CardioRisk. CardioRisk is one of the foremost CIMT screening companies. Ford interviews Todd to get his take on why he went into this. Todd is a trained public health epidemiologist. He originally worked with vaccines. He felt he could have a bigger impact on lives saved by promoting CIMT. He goes into the science of why he thought that - and still does. (By the way - I think he's right. CIMT really is the best screening tool for CV plaque. CV plaque is really the best determinant of heart attack and stroke risk. And if I'm right on those two, then CIMT is the best screen for death and disability.)

We talk about "hot topics" like:

- inter-technician and serial reliability;

- failure to recognize it;

- technical challenges;

- inadequate standards;

- Mean Max vs common IMT.

Todd Eldredge CardioRisk 1-888-724-7484

We discuss the landmark study in this area: called CAFES - CAVE.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11395035/

Check out this video on the basics of CIMT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uzC89i2sOs

Recent research from the New England Jl brings very good news.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa1800256

If you control the ABCs of Diabetes, you're probability of all-cause death, heart attack, stroke or congestive heart failure is no higher than people without diabetes! What are the ABCs of T2DM? A1c, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Smoking (and albuminuria).

New Engl Jl Medicine Aug 30 2018 C Schramm Bile Acids, the Microbiome, Immunity, and Liver Tumors

HCC ( Hepatocellular Carcinoma) is the #2 cause of tumor death in the world. It is growing rapidly due to fatty liver (NAFLD OR NASH)(Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Non-Alcoholic Steato Hepatitis). The liver is also commonplace to get metastases. C Schramm and others have demonstrated a mouse model of decreasing all liver tumors using an antibiotic. The antibiotic decreases gram-positive bacteria, specifically clostridia. These, in turn, decrease the conversion of primary bile acids to secondary bile acids. This causes an increase of immune marker CLXCL16, which in turn causes an increase in liver Killer T cells. These liver Killer T cells keep the tumor cells at bay.