A Heart Attack May Arrive Suddenly and Without Warning.

I lived to tell about it. Some people aren't so lucky.

For 30% of the 1.2 million heart attack victims each year the first sign of a problem is sudden death. Half of these unexpected events occur in women.

I'm Gene Millen. Fifteen years ago a highly skilled heart surgeon, sawed open my chest and stitched in bypasses to six of my favorite heart arteries.

Six heart bypasses isn't’ a record but it’s not bad for a skinny 59-year-old non-smoker with normal cholesterol and blood pressure and no family history of heart disease.  Gene's story.

Since my heart bypass operation in 1990, I�ve spent hundreds of hours sifting through clinical research studies on heart health to learn how to avoid a heart attack or stroke.

I'm always on the lookout for the latest information you (and I) need to know to keep our hearts as strong and vital as our Creator designed them to be.

Are you confused by conflicting claims and media hype about heart disease? Who wouldn't be? National author and fitness consultant, James Rippee says it better than I could.

“We have too much knowledge, too much media
exposure to ‘breakthroughs and controversies’.
What we need is more common sense!" 

As Will Rogers so aptly put it, "Common sense ain't common."

It's my aim to help you understand what the really important heart attack risks are and how you can improve your odds of having a vital and healthy heart for a long, long time.

The conventional wisdom is that heart disease is caused by high cholesterol and the best way to lower cholesterol is with statin drugs. The pharmaceutical industry spends millions to convince us (and our doctors) that Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor or Vytorin are just what you need for a healthy heart.

Statin drugs do lower LDL cholesterol, however if you are betting your life on these drugs alone to save you from a heart attack you could be in for an unpleasant surprise.

For example the fine print disclosure that has been appearing on Crestor's television commercials is not exactly a ringing endorsement of their drug. Here's what it says in a type size large enough to read:

"Crestor has NOT been shown to
prevent heart disease or heart attacks."

The INTERHEART study, which was recently published in the prestigious Lancet Medical Journal, describes the primary risk factors that lead to a heart attack or stroke.

And guess what? High LDL cholesterol is not in the top three!

Robert Superko, MD, director of research at Berkeley Heart Lab tells us what most doctors fail to mention.

“Cholesterol is not the problem we thought it was. Relying on cholesterol levels as a risk factor for coronary artery disease may not be wise since 80% of coronary patients have the same cholesterol as individuals who do not develop the disease.” 

      Gene