Submitted By: David Overton
All diseases and health problems have a sequence of underlying problems, which can be easily identified in appointments with focused questioning, exams and testing. This sequence includes treatable circulation problems that start in childhood. The sequence also includes physical problems (how much sleep you get, how you handle stress, too little or too much exercise, smoking, etc.), infections, immune problems, genetic problems (that run in your family) and your nutritional intake (what you eat and drink).
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data on 4,157 American adolescents aged 12 to 19 between 2003 and 2008, including minorities. None of the teenagers passed seven basic tests of cardiovascular health, strongly indicating American teens already have or will develop premature circulation problems.
I’m not surprised and have been saying this for years. Children, teens and young adults fail basic tests that indicate preventable circulation problems are present. After flunking tests in our office, we start preventative measures to improve, restore and support circulation before disease develops.
Consider an 18 year old girl recently seen in our office. She had seen several MDs but still had clear-cut circulation, physical, immune, genetic and nutritional problems and chronic viral infections were strongly suspected on my initial evaluation. Testing quickly showed treatable abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG), gluten intolerance and damage to her immune system, kidneys and circulation from past strep infections. More thorough tests confirmed treatable heart enlargement and valve damage, along with viral and mycoplasma infections (which are major causes of enlarged heart and circulation problems). Treatments with nutritional supplements and nutritional counseling have largely controlled her symptoms.
If you want to know why athletes are at particular risk for heart disease, see Part 3 that reviews treatable ECG (electrocardiogram), echocardiogram (cardiac ultrasound) and abnormal blood test results I commonly find and treat.
So what does the research say about our youth? Not one child tested by the CDC passed the following evaluations:
- Healthy diet. Every kid tested failed to on nutritional testing to consume enough vegetables, whole grains, have fish twice weekly, limit sodium intake and drink less than 36 ounces of sugar sweetened drinks. We offer nutritional evaluations and programs to address these problems.
After taking out the nutritional factors, only 16% of boys and 11% of girls passed the following tests:
- Body mass index (BMI). Children and teens, like adult are becoming increasingly overweight, which damages circulation. We offer medical weight loss programs.
- Smoking. 20-40% of teens are now smoking tobacco. No one knows how many are smoking marijuana. Either of these damages circulation and we have smoking cessation programs.
- Physical activities. 50-60% of boys and girls don’t meet exercise goals, which damages circulation. We offer exercise counseling.
- Glucose abnormalities. 40-45% of children and teens have abnormal glucose levels (abnormal blood sugar or pre-diabetes), which causes circulation damage. We offer nutritional counseling and alternative treatments,
- Cholesterol levels. 25-30% of teens have abnormal cholesterol, which damages circulation and many do not have cholesterol testing. We offer cholesterol testing and treatment with lifestyle and nutritional supplements to avoid drug side effects.
- Blood pressure is too high in 10% of kids. We offer natural treatments to avoid side effects of medications.
The key to finding and treating circulation and cardiovascular problems lies in :
- Doing more than a “sports physical” or standard exam.
- Looking at all seven factors at the same time. This requires blood tests, which are not commonly done on young patients
- Ordering more accurate tests, such as ECG, echocardiogram, CRP, kidney functions or other circulation tests
Recent public health initiated by the American Heart Association is to get 20% of adults within optimal on these seven tests. My goal is to get as many of my patients (children, teens & adults) to optimal on as many of these factors as possible to prevent heart disease and strokes, which are striking people at younger ages.
David Overton, PA-C works at Natural Medicines & Family Practice combining conventional and alternative treatments under the supervision of Dr. Richard Faiola, MD, ABFM. 360-357-8054.
