Monthly Archives: August 2008

Kitchen sink approach for Lp(a)

Posted on August 29, 2008 by Dr. Davis

Lipoprotein(a), Lp(a), can be a tough nut to crack. Having struggled and wrestled with this genetic pattern for the last 12 years or so in hundreds of patients, I have gained great respect for this difficult to control pattern. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Lipoprotein(a) | 12 Comments

Making Dr. Friedewald an honest man

Posted on August 28, 2008 by Dr. Davis

Colleen started with the usual discrepancy between conventional calculated LDL cholesterol of 121 mg/dl and the far more accurate LDL particle number (NMR) of 1927 nmol/L. Those of you following this conversation or our many conversations on the Track Your … Continue reading →

Posted in LDL cholesterol | 3 Comments

Some basic vitamin D issues

Posted on August 24, 2008 by Dr. Davis

The last post on vitamin D raised a number of basic questions among readers. So let me discuss some of these questions one by one. All of them raise important issues surrounding the practical aspects of managing vitamin D in … Continue reading →

Posted in vitamin D | 7 Comments

“How much vitamin D should I take?”

Posted on August 22, 2008 by Dr. Davis

It’s probably the number one most common question I get today: “How much vitamin D should I take?” Like asking for investing advice, there are no shortage of people willing to provide answers, most of them plain wrong. The media … Continue reading →

Posted in vitamin D | 17 Comments

You probably don’t take enough fish oil

Posted on August 20, 2008 by Dr. Davis

The results of the recent Heart Scan Blog survey in response to the question: MY DAILY DOSE OF EPA + DHA FROM FISH OIL IS revealed: Zero–I don’t take any 17 (7%) of respondents Less than 1000 mg per day … Continue reading →

Posted in Fish oil | 17 Comments

Vitamin D and HDL

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Dr. Davis

Despite the paucity of scientific documentation of this phenomenon, I am continuing to witness extraordinary increases in HDL cholesterol levels with vitamin D supplementation. I’ve touched on the interaction of vitamin D supplementation with HDL in The Heart Scan Blog … Continue reading →

Posted in vitamin D | 22 Comments

Weight loss and blood pressure

Posted on August 15, 2008 by Dr. Davis

Here’s another thought with regards to time issues with weight loss: reductions in blood pressure (BP). The previous post talked about how triglycerides initially go up, sometimes way up, when weight drops, only to be followed months later by substantial … Continue reading →

Posted in Blood pressure | 6 Comments

“I lost 30 lbs and my triglycerides went . . . up?”

Posted on August 13, 2008 by Dr. Davis

Brad needed to lose weight. At 6 ft tall, he began the program at 291 lbs, easily 80 lbs overweight. He wore virtually all of it in his belly. He had laboratory numbers to match: HDL 33 mg/dl, triglycerides 225 … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Divorce court for the doctor-patient relationship?

Posted on August 10, 2008 by Dr. Davis

The doctor-patient relationship has gone sour. This probably comes as no surprise to most of you, particularly if you’ve been following conversations here in The Heart Scan Blog: Who is your doctor? discussing the emergence of the physician-as-hospital-employee phenomenon that … Continue reading →

Posted in Heart disease | 4 Comments

How much fish oil is enough?

Posted on August 9, 2008 by Dr. Davis

This post just furthers this line of thinking out loud: How much fish oil is “enough”? Observations over the last 30 years followed this path: If a little bit of omega-3 fatty acids from fish are beneficial in reducing cardiovascular … Continue reading →

Posted in Fish oil | 7 Comments