Is a Keto Diet safe for someone with advanced atherosclerosis?

[Saphire]

Received a very high CT Calcium Score, nearly all sources suggest high carb low-fat diet. I feel great on a Keto Diet! Any evidence out there?

@Victoria_Powell you may want to check out this blog

https://www.docmuscles.com/tag/atherosclerosis/

Look at the May 2016 entry on a case study of a female patient who went on the keto diet

This is a study he mentions http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/121/10/1200.full which as I read it shows the most reduction in the low carb diet although there are plenty of limitations since the diet is not a true low carb high fat diet if you read the analysis

Dr. Nally is a DO in Arizona who used to be Jimmy Moore’s co-host on Keto Talk. He has mentioned in the past about patient’s physical markers improving on keto

[petpro]

Can’t find much conclusive ‘evidence’ on the best diet for CVD. It may be that certain diets work better for certain metabolic/genetic types. I’m going to stay on an LCHF Diet and monitor my blood work. I have increased my exercise after more research on collateral vessels. The reason I am not experiencing angina could be because a network of CV is already in place. I’m wondering how much I could push it, without experiencing discomfort.
The hallmark of future ‘Health Care’ will surely be Prevention & Customization.

[Q66]

Phil –

Some food for thought on the high calcium score and the use of K2. What might be more useful to know is how dense, and therefore, stable, is your calcium?

[Chris_W]

Atherosclerosis can advance as much as 30% per year … yikes!

Unless you remove the probable cause of it, which is what you are doing by eating LCHF. Your calcium indicates stable plaque that is like a band-aid on damage that has already been done. I would just KCKO. Keep your blood sugar and insulin low and ketones up. Try to get to as close to a 1:1 (or better) Triglyceride/HDL ratio. Reduce stress, be physically active (without over-doing it) – enjoy life! You’re going to be around for quite awhile yet.

[petpro]

TRI/HDL Ratio 1.37 Blood Glucose 83.
I have increased exercise, reduced stress and feel good.

Cheers

[petpro]

Do you know how to find out calcium density?
It seems that K2 supplements may not be such a good idea.

Cheers

[Q66]

I have an appointment with my cardiologist on Monday, I’ll ask him. Just from some initial research, my sense is they can measure changes in thickness over time, hence, a correlation to potential stability, but it may be difficult to determine how stable an existing formation is.

In the meantime, here’s a link to additional studies and info on K2 and artery calcification you may find of interest.

Proper Calcium Use: Vitamin K2 as a Promoter of Bone and Cardiovascular Health

[Saphire]

You may want to look at Dr. Kate’s work

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/the-llvlc-show-episode-703-dr-kate-rheaume-bleue-shines-light-on-vitamin-k2-and-calcium-paradox/19058

I listened to the podcast but have not read the book

[Q66]

Thanks, Saphire.

[Q66]

This video discusses how K2 does more to stop progression rather than reversal.

[petpro]

Thanks! There seems to be a question of whether the calcium could actually be stabilizing the plaque. Dense calcium plaques maybe stable and much less likely to cause a thrombosis (heart attack).

[Q66]

Phil, you definitely should watch this video. It might make you feel better about the higher calcium score. Its becoming more apparent as I’ve been reading about D3, K2 and artery calcification, that the calcium has a protective effect in terms of stabliizing plaques.

This video also makes the case that statins help stabliize the plaques as well as help reduce inflammation.

This all seems to go counter to what many people think, sort of like keto.

Cheers

[PaulL]

There seems to be a question of whether the calcium could actually be stabilizing the plaque. Dense calcium plaques maybe stable and much less likely to cause a thrombosis (heart attack).

It sounds reasonable. My impression from what I’ve seen so far is that the problem is not the presence of the calcium per se, but rather that, with repeated repairs, the arteries become stiffer and narrower, and are thus more vulnerable to being blocked by blood clots.

And speaking of clotting, the neurophysiologist David Diamond has done quite a bit of research on statins, cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease (he has published several papers with Uffe Ravnskov, in which they review various studies dealing with the “benefits” of statins and the real risk of cholesterol levels in relation to heart disease). His take on the statin research is hilarious, and he has some very interesting points to make about our fear of cholesterol.

In one lecture, Diamond discusses several studies of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia, all of which explicitly concluded that, because half of the patients with FH never even develop cardiovascular disease, cholesterol can’t possibly be the cause of the cardiovascular disease that appears in the other half. Diamond’s hypothesis is that the difference between the people with FH who remain healthy and those who experience cardiovascular disease and mortality lies in their genes; the FH patients who get sick or die all have gene alleles that make their blood far more likely to clot, which is a clear risk for a cardiovascular event.

[petpro]

Thanks for the video Q. It certainly looks like Calcium does help to stabilize plaque. It seems one needs a more accurate picture of the number of plaques. One needs to know the volume and density of the calcium deposits. I’m still working on figuring that out. Now I have to decide whether to continue taking K2.
Even so, I’m not sure if I want to take a statin to create more calcium. Using a LCHF diet to lower inflammation and an organic, micronutrient-rich strategy may well stabilize plaque naturally.

[petpro]

From my understanding it’s possible that an 80% blocked artery is stented and then two weeks later an unstable plaque (liquid plaque) that was only causing a 20% blockage ruptures and causes a thombosis (Heart attack). There also seems to be a protective process of ‘colateral vessel’ growth in some individuals that can actually give good blood flow even when a coronary artery is completley blocked. https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/28/3/278/2887447

I only recently discovered that statins actually increase calcium and make the plaque more stable, this would explain along with lowering inflamation there statistical success. That’s a good point about FH… some FH individuals have huge LDL numbers, yet have a zero CT Calcium score. Do you have any links to the information? My bloodwork has improved on a LCHF Diet (70% Fat).
At this time I have no data on plaque stablization or if LCHF has any effect on ‘colateral vessel’ growth. A positive result on a stress test seems to indicate that I have at least one 75% + blockage. (no symptoms). If this is confirmed by a cath angiogram it will be stented without question. Statins seem to interfer with so many systems, I’m holding off. Could be a mistake, I really don’t know.

Cheers

[PaulL]

Here are a couple of Diamond’s lectures that you might enjoy:

[petpro]

[Q66]

[Victoria_Powell]

FYI, my area of research interest is now regression. Of course, halting the progress of CAD/CVD is good, but regression would be my first choice. There’s actually a lot of literature, and I’ll be reading and reviewing it on my blog at www.whatnobodytoldme.com. Unfortunately I’m slow at it! First question is how to actually measure regression, so I’ll be looking at what types of imaging studies can actually measure the reduction in the tunica intima thickness, and/or measure reverse transport from foam cells/macrophages. For me I need measurement of my LAD, not other arteries that might or might not be an indicator. That’s why I don’t love the calcium score. I don’t have diffuse disease. I had two normal coronary CTA’s and only have disease in my LAD, not other places in my arteries, so I’m interested in measuring regression, or progression. Phil, you should explore whether your insurance would pay for EECP and where it is offered near you. It can achieve angiogenesis and endothelial health you won’t get with exercise. You can’t create the blood velocity of EECP no matter how fit you are, even elite athletes can’t do that. This is really another level of non-invasive treatment. Infuriates me that cardiologists never mention it, don’t know about it, and won’t look closely even when a patient asks. I wrote to Ford Brewer and he blew off the 20 years of research with a poorly written evaluation saying, they need better studies. The fact that patients reported far less use of nitroglycerin than prior to treatment was considered “unreliable.” Yeah, patients don’t know when they are in pain. The fact that patients have reduced hospital visits for chest pain, also not reliable. And he’s Hopkins “prevention” specialist. His conclusion, he can’t/won’t recommend an unproven treatment (that Medicare approves) even if it won’t hurt, and the stats on who it helps (admittedly patient reported) are staggeringly positive. Wow, there’s some brilliant reasoning. Let’s have more people die sooner and live with more pain without this safe treatment until Dr. Brewer decides he might mention it and let patients know it’s even an option. Patronizing medicine in all it’s glory.

[Q66]

Came across this company and technology re: arterial calcium removal

http://shockwavemedical.com/us/