Increasing Good Cholesterol Reduces Cardiovascular Risk

It's common knowledge that high cholesterol increases the risk of heart attack and strokes.
What's less well known is that statins, the drugs most often prescribed to lower cholesterol, may cause side effects that can even lead to heart disease.
Some medical experts think that rather than trying to lower overall or "bad" LDL cholesterol, a more effective course of heart disease prevention would be to raise HDL, or "good," cholesterol.

"It is estimated that every 1 percent increase in HDL can decrease the risk for heart disease by 2 percent in men and 3 percent in women," said Dennis Goodman, M.D., former Chief of Cardiology and Medical Director of the Cardiac Treatment Center at Scripps Memorial Hospital. "This is especially important because a low HDL level is one of the most common cholesterol problems found in people with heart disease."

In a six-month pilot study at Scripps Memorial, Dr. Goodman and investigator George Dennish, M.D., tested a cardiovascular nutritional supplement and found it increased HDL up to 23 percent, which would indicate a reduced risk of heart disease. The study found no adverse effects and demonstrated that the combination is safe to use with statin drugs.

The vitamins and minerals in the supplement include vitamin C, E, B6, B12, niacin, folic acid, magnesium and selenium, with protein-building amino acids, anti-oxidants such as CoQ10, alpha lipoic acid, N-acetylcysteine and policosanol and extracts of hawthorn, garlic, grape seed and soy isoflavones, all of which have been shown to beneficially affect heart health.

In one group tested, the HDL was raised by 23 percent; in another, by 40 percent.
"We are excited by these findings because they show the efficacy of essential vitamins and minerals, at levels recommended by the American Heart Association," said Dr. Goodman, who originally formulated the HDL Booster supplement, now sold by Enzymatic Therapy in health food stores nationwide.

For maximum heart health, Dr. Goodman recommends eating a well-balanced low-fat diet, staying active, quitting smoking if you smoke, and losing weight if you weigh too much. If you want to or need to raise your HDL levels, you may want to consider taking a supplement, which Dr. Goodman considers the future of cardiovascular therapy.