Cardiomyopathy or myocarditis from virus

This forum is intended for international users to help them with the treatment of cardiomyopathy or heart failure.
diane1
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Bericht door diane1 » zo okt 28, 2007 10:06 pm

Hiya,

I didn't get the notification for your last post, and these days I am quite busy preparing my trip.

I started introducing the different supplements gradually and not all at the same time, to see if I could notice any effects of taking them. The last thing I did was double the CoEnzyme Q10 dosage. And wow, that stuff is like a miracle drug!! I hadn't been feeling so good before that, but as soon as I started the 200mg, I immediately felt much better. Now most of the time I feel almost human, but still have less good moments too sometimes, which I guess somehow is normal. I still have a lot of limitations in terms of what I can do physically. Lifting things is still very strenuous. I try to keep my spirits up by hoping that all of these supplements will be able to repair my heart in time.

At my checkup with the doctor, things seemed to be the same. "Not getting worse" is how they say it. Still lots of arrhythmia and still enlarged heart, but otherwise the heart seems to be working ok.

The doctor couldn't help me find a better magnesium product here, but I am working on getting something from NL now.

Regards,
Diane

Ik zal 24 uur van donderdag tot vrijdag in A'dam zijn, zonder veel vrije tijd. Ik weet niet of het een goede idee is, maar ik kan proberen jouw te bellen. ik heb nog steeds mijn NL mobielnummer.

Corrij (therapeut)
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Bericht door Corrij (therapeut) » zo okt 28, 2007 10:26 pm

Hi Diane,

It is too soon to see big changes, the firts thing people notice is that they feeling better then they did in a long time.

If you have a check-up in june 2008 (for example) then there must be some improvement in your EF, and maybe the size of your heart.

There is a small improvement yet :D Youre feeling better.
divide your energy!

try to stay positive and you are what you think you are!!!
We're going to believe that you're gonna be oke. :D

That`s a very short visit :D
You can call me any time my number is 0164 687504

greetings,
Corrij
Those who do not have enough time for good health,
will not have good health for enough time.

diane1
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Bericht door diane1 » zo okt 28, 2007 10:34 pm

hi,
helaas, yes. but it's a "working trip". we are coming down with a van to finally pack up my stuff in NL and bring it up to Finland. Needless to say, my boyfriend will be doing all the work :wink:
diane

Corrij (therapeut)
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Bericht door Corrij (therapeut) » za nov 03, 2007 6:08 pm

Hi Diane,

It was nice talking with you :It was unfortunately a short conversation,but better a short one then none.

No problems to the border? :P

greetings,
Corrij
Those who do not have enough time for good health,
will not have good health for enough time.

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Bericht door Corrij (therapeut) » vr nov 16, 2007 7:02 pm

Hi Diane,

How are you?

Can you give me a little update?

greetings,
Corrij
Those who do not have enough time for good health,
will not have good health for enough time.

diane1
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Bericht door diane1 » wo nov 21, 2007 12:37 am

Hi Corrij,
Sorry about the delay in getting back to you. Indeed it was a hectic trip and we were only able to speak a short time. The connection cut when we crossed the border, though I don't think it really should have. In any case, my credit was about up.

These days I feel much the same, not really better than a month or so ago. Some days or hours not too bad, some times I can just hope that I will get better. I worry about the virus situation too. If the virus stays in my heart it could continue to be working against all the good things that we are trying to do to help my heart. It's hard to know, I guess.

Regards,
Diane

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Bericht door Corrij (therapeut) » wo nov 21, 2007 12:06 pm

Hi Diane,

I was reading some of your first messages and I notice that your a vegetarian,because of this I recommend to take vitamin B12 and omega 3.

Vegetarians have been shown to have a 24% reduced risk of dying of heart disease.

One of the earliest and well-known popularizers of a diet approach to heart disease was the Pritikin diet. The Pritikin Plan was created by a non-physician, Nathan Pritikin, and consisted of diet and exercise changes in a residential program.

The Ornish Diet is widely believed to have proven that a low fat, low cholesterol diet prevents heart disease. The AHA-1 Diet is recommended by the American Heart Association. Some food manufacturers produce cholesterol-reducing products which they suggest may help to reduce the risk of heart disease.

In addition to Ornish, Dr. Gabe Mirkin and Dr. John McDougall have been proponents of a diet approach to avoiding heart disease. McDougall sells "just add water" vegetarian meals in a cup on his right foods site.

The most powerful cholesterol-lowering agents are soluble fiber, unsaturated fats, and phytochemicals, all of which are found almost exclusively in plant foods. In the seventeen studies conducted between 1978 and 2002, the average vegan’s cholesterol level was 160 mg/dl, while the average non-vegetarian’s cholesterol was 202 mg/dl.

Despite the benefits of a vegetarian diet, it is likely that with a few changes to the typical vegetarian diet, the risks of heart disease could be reduced even further. Vegetarian diets are sometimes low in Vitamin B12, which can lead to increased homocysteine levels--a risk factor for heart disease. Since vegetarians do not eat fish, some vegetarians don't have high intakes of Omega-3 fatty acids. There is strong evidence that higher intakes of Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of heart disease. Both of these shortcomings can easily be overcome by taking a vitamin B12 supplement, along with spirulina or fermented soy products and increasing intake of omega-3 fatty acids via ground flax seeds or flax seed oil, soy products, and walnuts. There is some evidence that flax may be even more beneficial than fish oil in its effectiveness in reducing C-reactive protein, an indicator of heart disease. It should also be noted that while canola oil contains Omega-3 fatty acids, it has a high sulphur content and goes rancid easily. If canola oil is deodorized, these Omega-3 fatty acids are transformed into trans fatty acids, which are harmful.

Further to improve your immunesytem you can start taking zinc and selenium, and maybe increased your dosage of vitaminC.

What are the biggest problems at this moment?Youre arrythmias or are you feeling very tired?

greetings,
Corrij
Those who do not have enough time for good health,
will not have good health for enough time.

diane1
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Bericht door diane1 » vr nov 23, 2007 12:11 am

Hi Corrij,

Wow, this is actually quite funny to read. I am absolutely not a vegetarian, and quite the reverse, most of my life I have avoided eating many "green things". But I understand why you thought that. When I got this "illness" in February, I read a book called The China Study which tells of the evils of eating animal protein and animal fats. So, at that time I tried very hard to make even more changes toward a "very healthy diet" and drastically reduce the amount of animal products I ate. I rarely eat beef because I don't like it.
I do eat lots of fish on the other hand, and I take extra flax seeds and flaxseed oil and omega 3 also.

If I have a deficiency, it would be from not enough leafy greens. I am trying to incorporate more into my diet, but it is a challenge to eat things I don't like, of course!

Even if I don't always eat all of the healthy things that I should, I also don't eat any of the bad things. I never drink sodas, eat fast food, margarine, processed foods or other evils of today's junk food diet. (A vegetarian diet is not necessarily a healthy diet if it includes lots of processed foods and sweets, etc.)

I am trying to do as much as possible to keep my heart healthy, and as far as I know, I still have no symptoms of heart disease in the sense of coronary artery disease (no cholesterol problem, and low blood pressure).

But of course, thanks very much for continuing to try to help me get healthier! :)

There is selenium in my multivitamin and I eat a lot of mushrooms, and nuts which have selenium if I remember correctly. I don't take extra zinc, I forget why. I had read about it and found there were good and bad aspects of taking zinc supplements. There is 15mg of zinc in my multivitamin.

Well, I can still feel my heart isn't working right most of the time, and yes I still am limited in my physical activity - no steps or walking fast, and lifting and carrying things is still a strain. It is rare that I can forget about my condition - I am aware of my heart most all of the time.

Regards,
Diane

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Bericht door Corrij (therapeut) » vr nov 23, 2007 12:10 pm

diane1 schreef:Hello,


I am eager to start on the L-carnitine as I was hoping to do that soon anyway. Is the Pharma Nord brand a good one if I can get it?
I just read that carnitine is found in red meat. I don't eat much normally, and since March I don't eat any meat, except chicken sometimes.


Diane
Hi Diane,

The reason I thought you where a vegetarian was because of your message (above) :D

greetings,
Corrij
Those who do not have enough time for good health,
will not have good health for enough time.

diane1
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Bericht door diane1 » za nov 24, 2007 12:14 am

hi,
yes, as I mentioned in my last note, after reading about the evils of animal protein and having my own state of health and survival being on the line, I tried to cut out or cut down on meat as much as possible. but I am much more a carnivore than vegetarian by nature, so I'm not likely to give up all meat completely forever! It's true though that I don't eat much red meat, assuming pork doesn't count as red.

diane

diane1
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Bericht door diane1 » vr dec 28, 2007 2:35 am

Hi Corrij,

Happy Holidays!

I have been wondering something. I have not flown since my heart problems started. When I was in the hospital, the doctors told me not to fly for awhile. When I asked in the summer, one doctor said it was okay.

Do you know anything about this? Is there any danger for cardiomyopathy patients' hearts if we take long flights ?

Regards,
Diane

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Bericht door Corrij (therapeut) » vr dec 28, 2007 2:30 pm

Hello Diane,

Do you want to fly, but wonder how safe it is with heart disease?

Researchers at Yale University have proposed guidelines for patients with cardiovascular diseases who wish to travel by air. To produce their guidelines, published in the July 20, 2004 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, the authors compiled data from numerous studies on air travel and heart disease.

In general, air travel does not pose great risks to most patients with heart disease. Cardiac "incidents" occur only in 1 to 2 patients per million during air travel. However, some heart patients need to avoid flying, at least temporarily, because of the increased risk posed by being confined to a high-altitude (and therefore low-oxygen) compartment. (Airplane cabins are pressurized to the equivalent of approximately 10,000 feet above sea level.)

Patients should not fly if:

they have had a heart attack (myocardial infarction) within the past two weeks
they have had coronary artery stent placement within the past two weeks
they have had coronary artery bypass surgery within the past three weeks (longer if they have had pulmonary complications)
they have unstable angina, poorly controlled heart failure, or uncontrolled arrhythmias
Notably, the authors found no evidence that air travel interferes with pacemakers or implantable defibrillators.

Obtaining adequate personal space in a commercial airplane, particularly on a long-haul flight, is not just an issue of comfort. Real health hazards can arise from sitting too long in a cramped position, and the dangers are prevalent enough that a new term — "economy-class syndrome" — was added to the travelers' lexicon a few years ago.

Health professionals recently have launched intensive studies into venous thrombosis, or deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), a circulatory problem that could cause blood clotting and a pulmonary embolism, and even lead to death. Occasionally, DVT makes the news, as it did in 2000 when a 28-year-old woman died in London, minutes after returning from the Olympics in Sydney — a flight that lasted more than 20 hours.

The airlines and their trade organizations maintain that DVT could just as easily occur on a train or a bus, but others disagree. Earlier this year, a British court dismissed a claim from passengers seeking damages from airlines, prompting the introduction of legislation in Parliament that would allow DVT victims to sue air carriers.

Should the airlines be doing more to educate the public about the dangers of DVT? Absolutely. But there has been progress: Some carriers are now informing passengers about circulatory exercises via in-flight videos or instructional leaflets in the seatbacks. And British Airways, for one, teamed up with a medical school on a research project examining DVT.

Who's at risk

Existing medical evidence makes it clear that DVT is a credible threat, particularly for certain passengers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1.2 cases per 1,000 Americans are reported each year, with anywhere from 200,000 to 600,000 incidents annually.

To learn more

For further information about DVT or other issues related to traveling healthy (at home or abroad), check out these Web sites:


World Health Organization, International Travel and Health; www.who.int.ith


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Travelers' Health; www.cdc.gov/travel


International Society of Travel Medicine; www.istm.org


American Public Health Association; www.apha.org


Aviation Health Institute; www.aviation-health.org






And even though most studies have not determined conclusively that traveling by air poses a greater risk than other forms of inactivity, an airplane cabin's relative humidity and pressurization may be factors as well.

You may be among those with the greatest risk if you are:

• 40 or older (and the risk increases as you age)

• Recently recovering from surgery

• Pregnant

• Taking certain contraceptives

• Afflicted with congestive heart failure, cancer, or certain circulation problems

• Obese

• Someone who has had a previous thrombotic episode (especially a pulmonary embolism).

If you're concerned about any of these factors, or any other medical conditions, it's important that you seek medical advice before you fly. Recent studies have made it clear that you should specifically mention the threat of DVT to your doctor, since your physician may not be aware you're planning to travel.

Long flights are not the only concern. As USATODAY.com's Ben Mutzabaugh noted last month, a new study from Italy found that short-haul flights can be dangerous as well, since blood clots can form within the first two to three hours and become more dangerous with time.

greetings,
Corrij
Those who do not have enough time for good health,
will not have good health for enough time.

Corrij (therapeut)
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Bericht door Corrij (therapeut) » ma jan 28, 2008 9:49 pm

Hello Diana,

How are you, I hope youre doing well,

greetings,
Corrij
Those who do not have enough time for good health,
will not have good health for enough time.

diane1
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Lid geworden op: wo aug 22, 2007 3:37 pm
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Bericht door diane1 » do jan 31, 2008 2:26 am

Hello Corrij,

Happy New Year!

I am "stable" according to the doctors. Stable enough that my next appt is in 6 months, not 2 as has been the case until now.
I can describe my own feeling much the same as before. Good days and bad days, and maybe a slight improvement in the long term. But certainly not feeling "normal" yet.

I have been meaning to write you to ask some questions. I have just read the book The Sinatra Solution by Dr. Sinatra, a cardiologist in the US. He is a proponent of Co-Enzyme Q10, L-Carnitine, and D-Ribose (and Magnesium). If you haven't read it, you would find it interesting I think. For example he describes the differences in bioavailability in the types of products on the market. This is useful.

Do you think I should take the D-Ribose? It sounds interesting. But it seems that it is another one of those things that once you start taking it, you can never stop.

What do you think about iron? The multi-vitamin I take now is without iron. I know that there is good and bad regarding iron. I just read that Carnitine needs iron in order to synthesize in the body. But I have also read that iron depletes vitamin E absorption in the small intestine. And I think it is more important for me to have the Vitamin E.

Regards,
Diane

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Bericht door Corrij (therapeut) » do jan 31, 2008 11:53 am

Hi Diana,

Some information about Q10.You can take this together with 200 mg magnesium citrate.

CoQ10 and the Heart
CoQ10 was discovered in 1957-relatively late as vitamins discoveries go-by Frederick Crane, Ph.D., now at Purdue University in Indiana. Four years later, Peter D. Mitchell, Ph.D., of the University of Edinburgh, figured out how CoQ10 produces energy at the cellular level and, in 1978, won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for this discovery.
By the mid-1960s, Japanese researchers recognized that CoQ10 concentrated in the myocardium, or heart muscle. Its role in the heart makes sense: the heart, one of the body's most energetic organs, beats approximately 100,000 times a day and 36 million times a year, and depends on CoQ10 for "bioenergetics." In the early 1980s, Folkers, director of the Institute for Biochemical Research at the University of Texas, and the late Per H. Langsjoen, M.D. (Peter's father), conducted the first study of CoQ10 in the treatment of cardiomyopathy, a form of progressive heart failure.
The findings were astounding. In a well-controlled study, 19 patients who were expected to die from heart failure rebounded with an "extraordinary clinical improvement," according to Folkers and Langsjoen's report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (June 1985;82:4240-4).
Case studies demonstrate the dramatic effect of CoQ10. In Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (Jan 15, 1993;182:247-53), Folkers described a 43-year-old man suffering from cardiomyopathy. After being given CoQ10, his enlarged heart became smaller (indicating it was working more efficiently), and he was able to resume an "extremely active athletic lifestyle." The heart function of another patient, a 50-year-old man with very severe cardiomyopathy, returned after he took CoQ10, and he has since had "no limitations of activity."
Numerous other studies have confirmed the role of CoQ10 in treating heart failure, which is otherwise treated with drugs (such as beta blockers and ACE inhibitors)-or with a heart transplant. A sampling:
• Sixty-five cardiologists treating 806 patients for heart failure or ischemic heart disease indicated "significant" benefits from CoQ10. (Langsjoen, PH, Klinische Wochenschrift, 1988;66:583-90.)
• Twenty-five hundred heart failure patients at 173 Italian medical centers were given 50 to 150 mg CoQ10 daily for three months. Eighty percent of the patients had some type of improvement. (Clinical Investigator, Aug. 1993;71S:145-9)
• A 12-month double-blind study compared 319 patients taking CoQ10 with 322 taking a placebo. CoQ10 reduced complications of heart failure as well as the need for hospitalization. (Clinical Investigator, Aug. 1993;71S:134-6).

The best Q 10 you can buy is Ubiquinol and not Ubiquinone.
Compared with conventional ubiquinone CoQ10, ubiquinol was shown to absorb into the bloodstream up to eight times better, reduce fatique 90%, and slow aging in middle-aged mice 40% better.

About the carnitine,

Several experimental studies have shown that levocarnitine reduces myocardial injury after ischemia and reperfusion by counteracting the toxic effect of high levels of free fatty acids, which occur in ischemia, and by improving carbohydrate metabolism. In addition to increasing the rate of fatty acid transport into mitochondria, levocarnitine reduces the intramitochondrial ratio of acetyl-CoA to free CoA, thus stimulating the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase and increasing the oxidation of pyruvate. Supplementation of the myocardium with levocarnitine results in an increased tissue carnitine content, a prevention of the loss of high-energy phosphate stores, ischemic injury, and improved heart recovery on reperfusion. Clinically, levocarnitine has been shown to have anti-ischemic properties. In small short-term studies, levocarnitine acts as an antianginal agent that reduces ST segment depression and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure. These short-term studies also show that levocarnitine releases the lactate of coronary artery disease patients subjected to either exercise testing or atrial pacing. These cardioprotective effects have been confirmed during aortocoronary bypass grafting and acute myocardial infarction. In a randomized multicenter trial performed on 472 patients, levocarnitine treatment (9 g/day by intravenous infusion for 5 initial days and 6 g/day orally for the next 12 months), when initiated early after acute myocardial infarction, attenuated left ventricular dilatation and prevented ventricular remodeling. In treated patients, there was a trend towards a reduction in the combined incidence of death and CHF after discharge. Levocarnitine could improve ischemia and reperfusion by (1) preventing the accumulation of long-chain acyl-CoA, which facilitates the production of free radicals by damaged mitochondria; (2) improving repair mechanisms for oxidative-induced damage to membrane phospholipids; (3) inhibiting malignancy arrhythmias because of accumulation within the myocardium of long-chain acyl-CoA; and (4) reducing the ischemia-induced apoptosis and the consequent remodeling of the left ventricle. Propionyl-l-carnitine is a carnitine derivative that has a high affinity for muscular carnitine transferase, and it increases cellular carnitine content, thereby allowing free fatty acid transport into the mitochondria. Moreover, propionyl-l-carnitine stimulates a better efficiency of the Krebs cycle during hypoxia by providing it with a very easily usable substrate, propionate, which is rapidly transformed into succinate without energy consumption (anaplerotic pathway). Alone, propionate cannot be administered to patients in view of its toxicity. The results of phase-2 studies in chronic heart failure patients showed that long-term oral treatment with propionyl-l-carnitine improves maximum exercise duration and maximum oxygen consumption over placebo and indicated a specific propionyl-l-carnitine effect on peripheral muscle metabolism. A multicenter trial on 537 patients showed that propionyl-l-carnitine improves exercise capacity in patients with heart failure, but preserved cardiac function.

I really don`t believe that changes the brand gives you any trouble, I never heard of this before.

D-Ribose is a part of the protocol, but not everyone is using this,

D-Ribose improves diastolic function and quality of life in congestive heart failure patients: a prospective feasibility study.Omran H, Illien S, MacCarter D, St Cyr J, Luderitz B.
Department of Medicine-Cardiology, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Street 25, D-53105, Bonn, Germany. omran@uni-bonn.de

Patients with chronic coronary heart disease often suffer from congestive heart failure (CHF) despite multiple drug therapies. D-Ribose has been shown in animal models to improve cardiac energy metabolism and function following ischaemia. This was a prospective, double blind, randomized, crossover design study, to assess the effect of oral D-ribose supplementation on cardiac hemodynamics and quality of life in 15 patients with chronic coronary artery disease and CHF. The study consisted of two treatment periods of 3 weeks, during which either oral D-ribose or placebo was administered followed by a 1-week wash out period, and then administration of the other supplement. Assessment of myocardial functional parameters by echocardiography, quality of life using the SF-36 questionnaire and functional capacity using cycle ergometer testing was performed. The administration of D-ribose resulted in an enhancement of atrial contribution to left ventricular filling (40+/-11 vs. 45+/-9%, P=0.02), a smaller left atrial dimension (54+/-20 vs. 47+/-18 ml, P=0.02) and a shortened E wave deceleration (235+/-64 vs. 196+/-42, P=0.002) by echocardiography. Further, D-ribose also demonstrated a significant improvement of the patient's quality of life (417+/-118 vs. 467+/-128, P< or =0.01). In comparison, placebo did not result in any significant echocardiographic changes or in quality of life. This feasibility study in patients with coronary artery disease in CHF revealed the beneficial effects of D-ribose by improving diastolic functional parameters and enhancing quality of life.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... med_docsum

andere artikelen

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... med_docsum

greetings,
Corrij
Those who do not have enough time for good health,
will not have good health for enough time.

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