Vitamin C Therapy for Coronary Artery Disease

As the leading cause for death in the United States for men and women, coronary artery disease is a big concern for its citizens. It is usually caused by atherosclerosis, or plaque build-up in the arteries. As the spaces in the arteries narrow, blood flow to the heart is significantly reduced and can actually stop. Symptoms are usually described by patients as chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or as chest constriction associated with increased activity or stress levels. Atherosclerosis leads to coronary artery disease, or heart disease, and can result in stroke, heart attack, heart failure, or death.

You may be wondering why heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. It can generally be linked to things like smoking and drinking, which significantly increase inflammation and decrease vitamin stores in the body. Diabetics, people with kidney disease, and people who live sedentary lifestyles are also at a very high risk for developing heart disease.

If you are at high risk or have been diagnosed with heart disease by your doctor, you will need to follow treatment programs very closely. Abruptly stopping medications used to treat high cholesterol (statin drugs), high blood pressure, blood thinners, or diuretics can cause a heart attack or make symptoms worse.

Coronary arteries take on a lot of stress, stretching and compressing a large amount of blood every second to keep blood flowing into and out of the heart. If there are insufficient vitamin levels in the body, these arteries lose elasticity and become cracked, brittle and damaged. Calcium is attracted to these cracks and deposits itself in them, leaving arteries hard and fragile.

The body tries to repair the damaged arteries by producing extra cholesterol to smooth over these hard patches. High cholesterol is often a warning that heart disease has already started to develop. Preventing further damage to the arteries is the best way to control the outcome of this process.

Because coronary arteries take on a heavy workload, there will always be a process of breaking down and building up going on. If you were perfectly healthy, the lesions and stress points in your arteries would be healed with collagen and elastin, not calcium and cholesterol. Collagen and elastin create a flexible, soft, healthy artery wall, while calcium and cholesterol produce hard, brittle patches that attract more calcium and plaque.

Vitamin C is necessary for the production of collagen and elastin. People who are deficient often end up with coronary artery disease, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, and other diseases that are caused by an insufficient supply of collagen and elastin in the body. These inflammatory diseases cause the body to quickly be depleted of vitamin stores. When combined with a poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking or drinking, it can be almost impossible to produce collagen and elastin.

Taking vitamin C to repair damage in your arteries, control inflammation, and stop further damage from occurring is a great way to help you beat the odds. It is important to speak with your physician before starting a vitamins and supplements routine, because taking higher doses of certain vitamins can alter the effects of the medications that your doctor prescribes. Taking a highly absorbable, non-acidic form of the best vitamin C, like vitamin c powder, can help you to take the doses that are necessary to get your body back in balance. Work with your doctor when treating the root cause of your coronary artery disease and you could be on your way to healing and preventing more damage.



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