Heart Health Myths Debunked

Cardiologist Addresses Common Misconceptions, More, On Early Show Saturday Edition

(CBS)  Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, so it's crucial that people get their facts straight about it.

And all-too-often, says cardiologist Dr. Nieca Goldberg, conventional wisdom is way off the mark.

In the last part of the weeklong series "HeartScore," on The Early Show Saturday Edition, Goldberg talked about some of the leading myths, and the actual facts.

As its title makes clear, Goldberg is the author of "Dr. Nieca Goldberg's Complete Guide to Women's Health." To read an excerpt, click here. She is also director of the NYU Women's Heart Center.

MYTH #1: VITAMINS PREVENT HEART DISEASE

Many studies have begun to refute that notion. They don't seem to have all the health benefits they purport to. I recommend that patients eat fruits and vegetables that contain vitamins that have been proven to reduce heart disease. You want to get B vitamins -- spinach, broccoli, kale. Eat colorful salads. When you choose colorful vegetables, that's when you get your nutrients. Blueberries are very high in anti-oxidants.

WHY DON'T THOSE VITAMINS AND NUTRIENTS WORK IN PILL FORM?
We need more research, but maybe it's not the vitamins themselves, as opposed to the context of the living vegetable and fruit. People often believe you can take a vitamin and eat a high fat, high cholesterol diet, but it doesn't work like that.

MYTH #2: FEMALE AND MALE HEART ATTACKS LOOK THE SAME

A male heart attack could have different symptoms than a female heart attack. Instead of the "Hollywood Heart Attack," women often have shortness of breath, unexplained fatigue, pressure in the stomach and tightness in the throat. Sixty-four percent of women who have a heart attack die suddenly, without making it to the hospital, and 80 percent of the women have a risk factor we can treat.

MYTH #3: WEIGHT AND CHOLESTEROL ARE THE BEST INDICATORS

Another myth is that you're safe from having a heart attack if your weight and cholesterol are at normal levels. There are other factors, such as genetic ones, risk factors that might not be so obvious to the eye. Doctors may do additional blood work for marker measuring inflammation, another risk that could lead to heart disease.

MYTH #4: GARLIC LOWERS YOUR BAD CHOLESTEROL LEVELS

It was once believed that people who eat a clove of garlic a day could reduce their cholesterol levels. There's nothing to that. Garlic may not improve the cholesterol profiles of people with moderately high levels of "bad" cholesterol.

ARE THERE ANY FOODS THAT CAN LOWER YOUR BAD CHOLESTEROL LEVELS?

The best way to lower LDL is to combine diet with exercise. The best you can do is lowering your cholesterol level 12-15 points. I always tell my patients you should exercise and modify your diet, because you can take less medicine then.

MYTH #5: IF YOU TAKE STATINS, YOU CAN EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT

Statins lower cholesterol. They prevent plaque from rupturing and causing a heart attack. They make blood vessels more flexible. That's a good combination, but preventing heart disease is really a number of things. If you smoke, if you're obese, these are all risks for heart disease.

[Pamela_Seldin]

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[cynthy4]

On the website www.cholesterolscore.com there's a ton of information about the healthful effects of niacin. It seems that therapeutic doses of niacin, which have been used & studied since the 1950's, have done more than what statin drugs like Crestor promise. From lowering LDL to raising HDL to improving C-reactive protein levels, to lowering triglycerides, to enlarging lipid particle size, to increasing longevity, no other medication has been found to be as effective as niacin. Are the claims and evidence at cholesterolscore.com valid?