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. . . to slowing, stopping, even REVERSING heart disease! 

Your heart scan is the 1st step to reducing heart disease risk in your life.  Learn how you can design a program that controls . . . even REDUCES . . . your heart scan score!


New TYP Forum Online
As promised, Track Your Plaque has developed a new and completely proprietary Forum that runs on our server and is under our complete control. It is designed to be integrated with our new Track Your Plaque Online Clinic Community that is part of our upcoming new Heart Disease Prevention and Reversal Online Clinic website. Rather than an abrupt change, we will slowly evolve our current site into our new website. This is the first step.  Go to Forums

NEW MEMBER FEATURE: Online Webinars
First Webinar Now Available in Member Library
Track Your Plaque held its first live "Webinar" on February 13th where Dr. Davis covered the evidence behind and importance of Vitamin D in your plaque control program.  In case you missed it you can access it in the Member Library under "Webinars."

NEW FEATURE: Virtual Clinical Trial
Members have been sharing their experiences with different heart disease prevention and reversal products on the Member Forum.  Now we have formalized the process of recording the information in a database, analyzing it, and publishing the results.  The Phosphatidylcholine Special Report introduces this exciting new concept. [Learn more]

Winning Your Personal War with Heart Disease:
The Track Your Plaque 5 Stages of Success

FREE SPECIAL REPORT IS A MUST READ FOR ALL HEART DISEASE SUFFERERS!
Successfully conquering coronary heart disease takes place in several stages. Completely reversing heart disease to a achieve a zero heart scan score is not necessary to lead a happy and safe life. [Read more]



            Amy A.

New Reversal Record Holder at 63%!
Move Over Neal T.  It Just Keeps Getting Better!
It has hardly been a month but a new Track Your Plaque member has eclipsed the old reversal record set by Neal. Amy's total score was smaller but on a percentage basis she is the new record holder.  Keep in mind that ANY reversal (even 1%), or even a reduction in growth rate may significantly reduce heart attack risk.  Still, it's nice to be #1! [Read more]

Learn Why . . .
- A heart scan is the most important health test you can get.
- Cholesterol is not an effective way to measure heart health.
- The old tests for heart disease were wrong - dead wrong!


Scan Center Spotlight
OC Vital Imaging
Orange, CA

OC Vital Imaging has been providing heart scans to southern California since 2001 and has developed an extensive experience, having scanned approximately 10,000 people. [Learn More]



Track Your Plaque Guides & Handbooks
Read the Newest Guide: Vitamin D and Heart Health 
Track Your Plaque is proud to offer a series of in-depth guides and handbooks to our members. These extensive publications cram everything there is to know on subjects essential to understanding and following the Track Your Plaque Programfree to all members! [Go to the Guides]

Who is in the Chat Room?
The Chat Room is currently unoccupied
[Go to Chat Room]

Track Your Plaque Community Forum
Talk to Track Your Plaque Staff and Members
The Community Forum is the place to ask questions about the Track Your Plaque program, talk with other Members, and share experiences.  The Forums are continuously monitored and most questions are answered within 48 hours. [Go to the Forums]


 

 
Blog With Cardiologist Dr. William Davis
Follow along with a regular diary of clinical notes, observations, and opinions on heart disease prevention and reversal by Track Your Plaque author and cardiologist William R. Davis, MD, FACC


 
HeartHawk Heart Health Consumer Advocate
Rough, tough, and unapologetic, Track Your Plaque's heart health consumer advocate HeartHawk brings his edgy reporting style to Track Your Plaque Members with his blog.


 
Animal Pharm: Your Prescription for Heart Health
Dr. B G guides you through the winding rabbit hole of drugs, supplements, and nutrition along an upbeat and often off-beat path to heart health.



Track Your Plaque in the News:
Vitamin D and Plaque Regression Data
Reported at FASEB Meetings

Dr. Davis and Dr. Rockway of Rush University Medical Center collaborated to present Track Your Plaque's findings regarding Vitamin D and plaque regression at the Experimental Biology symposium in San Diego. [Read more]

Book Review: NO More Heart Disease
For years, scientists searched for Endothelial Derived Relaxation Factor (EDRF) the mysterious substance responsible for signaling blood vessels to "relax" and dilate.  The book gets its curious capitalization of the word "NO" from "Nitric Oxide" the substance discovered as being the elusive EDRF. [Read more]

HDL, Higher is Better: The TNT Trial
FREE SPECIAL REPORT
The latest analysis of the data from Treat to New Targets (TNT) Trial shows that higher HDL cholesterol values are associated with reduced risk of heart attack, even in those with low LDL cholesterol values. [Read more]

The Bankrupting of American Healthcare:
$20 Billion, Many Lives Lost Each Year

FREE SPECIAL REPORT
Cost Analysis Details Startling Waste
Perverse Heart Health Practices Enrich the Few and Condemn the Many
[Read more]


Can estrogen reduce CT heart scan scores?

A new analysis from the Women’s Health Initiative study has provided persuasive evidence that estrogens help control CT heart scan scores. How does that fit into rational heart disease prevention and the Track Your Plaque program? [Read more]


American Heart Association acknowledges the power of Heart Scans to predict heart attacks!

After years of political battling and resistance to CT scanning for coronary calcium scoring, the American Heart Association (AHA) has finally released a formal position paper acknowledging the ability of heart scans to predict heart attacks. [Read more]


SHAPE Guidelines bring CT heart scans to forefront
Asymptomatic But Vulnerable Population Targeted

The Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education (SHAPE) Task Force released guidelines for heart disease detection in the American public. Why is that news? Aren’t there already guidelines in place for heart disease detection? Shockingly, there are not. There are guidelines for heart disease risk factor assessment, but no set of guidelines that incorporate measures of atherosclerosis itself—a crucial distinction. [Read more]


 
In-Depth Success Stories: A 500+ point drop in score—without prescription drugs!

Based on numerous Member inquiries into the impressive successes obtained using the Track Your Plaque approach for coronary plaque control and reversal, we now inaugurate a new series of Special Reports for program Members: In-Depth Success Stories. In these Special Reports we go into further detail on how people who’ve obtained substantial regression went about it. [Read more]

What is Plaque?

We track it. We try to control it, stop it, reverse it.  But what exactly is plaque? If we were unable to identify and measure plaque, there would be no Track Your Plaque program. In other words, without the ability to detect, quantify, and track coronary plaque, there would be no need for our program or any effort to try and exert control over this thing. [Read more]

10 Steps to Take If Your Heart Scan Score Increases More Than 10% Per Year: A 2008 Update
FREE SPECIAL REPORT
The goal of the Track Your Plaque program is to stop plaque growth and dramatically reduce heart attack risk. But what should you do if your heart scan score still increases? An increasing score can signal heightened risk for heart attack. The keys to controlling your score aren’t always so obvious.  Read the 2008 update. [Read more]

Unique Strategies for Lipoprotein(a) Reduction

Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), can be among the most frustrating causes of coronary atherosclerotic plaque. Sometimes treatment of this genetic pattern can be simple and straightforward. Other times it can test even the most patient and persistent. Lp(a) is by no means a rare pattern. Of people with a heart scan score above zero, 1 in 5 will have it. [Read more]

An Interview with Dr. Joel Fuhrman:
The Master of Fasting


Fasting  may present a chance for accelerated plaque control, such as that at the very beginning of your program. So we went to an expert in fasting, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, to get his take on just how fasting could benefit those of use with an interest in plaque control and reversal. [Read more]

An Interview with Dr. Bill Blanchet:
Heart Disease Prevention Champion


We stumbled upon Dr. Bill Blanchet's provocative commentary entirely by accident in a physician forum passionately arguing for heart scanning and intensification of heart disease prevention. So we tracked this free-thinking doctor down to share his ideas. [Read more]

Phosphatidylcholine: Can it raise HDL?

Prompted by interest on the Member Forum, here is a discussion of the potential merits of this supplement as a means of raising HDL cholesterol, possibly shifting its subclass distribution, as well as other lipid effects. [Read more]

CT heart scans and radiation: The real story
Our concerns about radiation exposure all boil down to concern over lifetime risk for cancer, a disease that strikes approximately 20% of all Americans. Radiation is just one source of risk, though to some degree a controllable one. Where do heart scans fit in? [Read more]

The Injured Endothelium: How it lays the groundwork for plaque growth - And how to put a stop to it!

The endothelium is the single-celled layer lining the arteries of the body. In fact, it’s the most extensive organ system in the human body. It’s a fragile organ that injury transforms into a plaque-lined landmine. Endothelial injury precedes real trouble by years. Here’s how to recognize when you have it and nutritional supplements and health strategies to help correct it. [Read more]

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
Lipoprotein Analysis: An Advanced User’s Guide


Lipoprotein testing is one of the cornerstones of the Track Your Plaque program, one of the reasons that we enjoy such enormous success in dropping heart scan scores. Lipoprotein testing uncovers patterns that are simply not detected by conventional cholesterol testing. It does require an intellectual commitment to understand some unique measures. However, the rewards can be substantial: better control over heart disease. [Read more]

Calcium: The Good, the bad, and the ugly

Your heart scan score measures calcium. The less you have, the better. But that’s not true everywhere in the body. In bones, less calcium signals  osteoporosis.  Calcium in blood and other tissues remains tightly regulated. Why this calcium disconnect in different places? Does taking calcium have any effect? New research provides surprising answers. [Read more]


Phospholipase A2: Emerging marker of heart attack risk . . . or drug company scam?

Drug companies have pursued phospholipids as a marker to justify intensified need for statin drugs. Are they the miracle marker some claim, or is it just a ploy for expanding the statin market for drug manufacturers? [Read more]


Nuts: Functional food, weight, and cholesterol-control tool

Fiber, healthy monounsaturated oils, and protein are just some of the healthy ingredients in
nuts that make them an important part of a plaque-control nutrition program. Here’s the
Track Your Plaque Special Report that helps you put them to maximum use. [Read more]


Erectile dysfunction and coronary plaque:
Is there a connection?


Men who experience erectile dysfunction (ED) commonly also have heart disease, and vice versa. If you have one, you’re likely to have the other. Here’s a few things you can do about it. [Read more]


Headaches over aspirin?

Good old-fashioned aspirin has been the subject of thousands of studies, yet controversy still abounds on its benefits, dangers, and issues like aspirin resistance. Can we cut through the clutter and extract the information we need for our plaque-control interests? [Read more]


Vitamin K2: An emerging story

Along with vitamin D, recent studies put vitamin K2 in the spotlight as a major factor in calcium control in the body. Long considered a passive accompaniment of atherosclerotic plaque growth, calcium deposition in coronary arteries, evidenced by your CT heart scan score, is increasingly looking more like an active component that may be under your control. [Read more]


Matrix Metalloproteinase: Key to heart attacks?

Matrix metalloproteinase, MMP, is an enzyme that may hold the key to heart attack. Block matrix metalloproteinase and it might dramatically reduce the likelihood of heart attack in your lifetime? [Read more]


C-Reactive Protein:
The Track Your Plaque Perspective


C-reactive protein (CRP) is another blood test that many hope will improve the power to predict whether heart attack is in your future. We have to think of heart disease as an inflammatory disease, just as we think of rheumatoid arthritis as an inflammatory disease. [Read more]


Optimism, pessimism, and coronary plaque

What role do emotions play in heart disease? Will they impact on your success or failure in controlling coronary plaque and reducing your heart scan score? Or is it all just fluff, the preaching of psychologists caught up in the mumbo-jumbo of feelings and emotions? [Read more]


Are stress tests a waste of time?

If you already know that you have coronary plaque, what purpose does a stress test play? Does it provide any advantage, any additional information to you and your doctor?  Or are stress tests a complete waste of time, just another test to generate revenues for your doctor and hospital? [Read more]


Tip the scales towards plaque reversal

There’s no one easy formula to achieve coronary plaque reversal: no single pill, supplement, food that guarantees that you drop your heart scan score. But there are indeed factors which can work in favor or against the likelihood that you gain control over your coronary plaque. [Read more]


Lipoprotein Checklist: Small LDL

Just like people, LDL particles vary in size and structure. The size of the LDL particle makes a crucial difference in whether or not it contributes to coronary plaque.. [Read more]


Double the horsepower of your statin drug

Good or bad, the statins have assumed a prominent role in many people’s heart disease prevention program. If you’ve committed to having a statin drug in your program, here are ideas for magnifying the benefits. [Read more]


The Cuisine of Well-being:
Healthful recipes from Chef Michel Nischan


Chef Nischan has generously provided us with a bounty of wonderful recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He’s chosen 11 dishes that range from extremely simple (Lightly salted edamame), to moderately detailed (Pan-toasted garlic and wilted spinach soup).  None are difficult. All are delicious! . [Read more]


Lipoprotein Checklist: Lipoprotein(a)

Lipoprotein (a), or Lp (a) (read “L–P little a”) is a powerful and underappreciated cause of heart disease. Up to 20% of people with heart disease will have increased Lp(a). It can trigger heart attacks early in life, as early as 40s or 50s. Lp (a) also magnifies dangers of other abnormalities. [Read more]


Fasting: Fast Track to Control Plaque

If you’re anxious to obtain faster control over your heart scan score and its causes,
then fasting is worth considering. Fasting is the quickest, most effective method to
“jump-start” a lifestyle that has suffered neglect and regain control over health. [Read more]


One for the road: Alcohol and coronary plaque

As you enjoy your glass of Bordeaux, are you adding or subtracting from the mix of factors that contribute to coronary plaque? Are alcoholic beverages a blessing or a curse for your heart disease prevention program?  The Track Your Plaque no-nonsense Special Report on alcohol and its influence on coronary plaque. [Read more]


Can heart disease be reversed?

We’re on the dawn of a new age in which reversal of heart disease is rapidly becoming a reality for more and more people. What exactly happens when coronary heart disease is reversed? What does it look like and how do you know when you’ve achieved it? Is there a scientific rationale behind the Track Your Plaque approach? Here’s our Special Report on everything you wanted to know about heart disease reversal. [Read more]


Progesterone? What’s it got to do with me?

Track Your Plaque Nurse Carol learns about the benefits of progesterone from her own personal experience. [Read more]

Unique nutritional strategies to reduce cholesterol naturally
Tired of the media onslaught promoting statin drugs? What happened to a conversation about nutritional strategies that reduce cholesterol? There are indeed ways to significantly reduce cholesterol using common foods and nutritional supplements. Reductions in LDL cholesterol of 25, 30, 50, even 100 mg/dl are possible—if you know what and how. [Read more]

Warning: Normal blood pressure may be high blood pressure!
Widely misunderstood, underestimated, under-treated, and ignored, blood pressure is a prime instigator of coronary plaque growth. Although most people regard blood pressure issues as dull and not worthy of fuss, control of this incredibly important facet of health is a basic requirement for atherosclerotic plaque control and putting a halt to an increasing heart scan score. [Read more]

DHEA: What role in your program?
The arguments for and against DHEA replacement have zig-zagged from fountain of youth to dangerous. Here, we cut through the hype and hone in on the issues important to your plaque-control program. [Read more]

When what you eat sticks around:
Postprandial lipid disorders and their impact
on your plaque-control program

There are a set of cholesterol-related abnormalities called “postprandial disorders”, the abnormal persistence of fatty digestive by-products that stick around for up to 24 hours after eating. They are among the most potent causes of heart disease, stroke, and aneurysm known. [Read more]

What if your heart scan score is ZERO?
Tremendous confusion persists about the implications about a heart scan score of zero. A zero score is great! In fact, it’s the best result obtainable. But does it allow you to do anything you want, free of danger for the rest of your life? [Read more]

Use Fiber to Accelerate Weight Loss
Choose one fiber and it will make your bowels regular. Choose another fiber and you reduce LDL cholesterol, blood sugar, increase satiety—and lose weight.  Know how to choose the right fibers to reach your goals. [Read more]

Men: You can use testosterone to treat lipoprotein disorders
Testosterone is gaining wide acceptance for restoration of youthful vigor, increasing muscle mass, and improvement of well being. But testosterone also offers some unique opportunities for correction of specific lipoprotein disorders. Here’s what you need to know. [Read more]

Homocysteine: An Update
Study after study has confirmed that, the higher your homocysteine blood level, the greater your risk for heart attack and stroke. But two recent studies have been recently released that cast serious doubt on whether reducing homocysteine using B vitamins has any beneficial effect on heart disease. What now? [Read more]

The women and heart disease controversy:
What’s the real story?

Heart disease is traditionally viewed as a man’s disease. As a result, women have been neglected in research and often misdiagnosed when symptoms develop. Media reports highlight how heart attack symptoms are different in women. The message: Don’t dismiss unusual symptoms in females. [Read more]

Females, hormones, and weight control:
An interview with Dr. Nisha Jackson

As early as their late 30s, women begin to experience the physical changes of peri-menopause and menopause. Along with the emotional roller-coaster ride and hot-flashes, most women gain a substantial quantity of weight. This has implications for your plaque-control program. [Read more]

Small LDL Particles: Bullies looking for trouble.  An Interview with Lipidologist, Dr. Tara Dall
Small LDL is the #1 most common lipid/lipoprotein abnormality causing coronary plaque. It’s also among the most ignored. Track Your Plaque interviews lipid expert, Dr. Tara Dall, for an in-depth discussion about this important problem. [Read more]

Magnesium: Water to the rescue!
Magnesium can help turn-off pre-diabetic patterns like low HDL and small LDL, reduce blood pressure, and prevent heart rhythm disorders. But getting adequate magnesium from water and food is getting increasingly difficult. The average American is significantly deficient. Here’s a Track Your Plaque guide to using water to increase your magnesium intake. [Read more]

CoEnzyme Q10: The nutritional supplement that may make or break your program
It’s an imperfect solution, but supplemental coenzyme Q10 allows many people to take a statin cholesterol-reducing drug while sparing them from the inevitable muscle aches. [Read more]

A Nutritional Approach to Triglycerides
An Interview with Track Your Plaque Expert
Nutritionist Gay Riley

Triglycerides are an ingredient that your body can use to make a number of unwanted lipoprotein particles. Fortunately, triglycerides are among the most susceptible fats to dietary manipulation. [Read more]

Niacin: Ins and outs, ups and downs
Niacin—vitamin B3—corrects multiple lipoprotein patterns. Used properly, niacin is a safe, effective treatment that results in dramatic reduction in heart disease risk. Used improperly, it can be full of unwanted adverse effects, most annoying, some dangerous. [Read more]

Boost your heart and mind: The fascinating link between depression and heart disease
Heart disease and depression often go hand-in-hand. This suggests that treatment strategies may also attack both illnesses. Read this primer on health strategies that may help navigate the complex interplay of these painfully common problems. [Read more]

Foods that Help You Lose Weight
What if you could choose foods that help you lose weight? Here’s a list of just that—foods that you can include every day to enhance your weight-loss success. [Read more]

Lipoprotein(a): What it is, why it's important, and why you need to know if you've got it!
A missing piece in many people’s heart disease prevention program is lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a). If you have it, it can pose special risk for heart disease. The treatment effort is specific. Eating better, exercising, and taking a cholesterol drug just won’t cut it. [Read more]

Is l-arginine dangerous after heart attack?
L-arginine is a powerful nutritional supplement in the fight against heart disease.  Recent headlines declare that l-arginine is dangerous for your heart if taken after a heart attack. Is this true? Should you stop your l-arginine?. [Read more]

ApoA-1 Milano:
Hope for a Cure or Hype for Profit?

Coronary plaque regression in just weeks? The initial clinical trial indeed suggested that this was achievable. And it wasn’t just another glowing report on a cholesterol drug, but an entirely new class: a recombinant mimic of a naturally-occurring mutant HDL protein. [Read more]

An interview with Dr. John Cannell:
The Importance of Vitamin D

Vitamin D, previously regarded (ignored) as only a risk for childhood rickets, is now being increasingly recognized as a crucial modulator of numerous body processes. Low vitamin D levels are epidemic and a major contributor to hypertension, diabetes, cancer and heart disease! [Read more]


 
Your Heart Health Consumer Advocate
Although metal stents are an effective short-term plumbing fix for a plugged coronary artery, they have their own long-term problems once implanted. Stent restenosis (narrowing of the stented artery) has been a constant problem. Special "drug-eluting" stents may exaggerate the problem of thrombosis (blood clots), and new research reveals that these stents inhibit the body's natural ability to generate collateral paths for blood flow.  [Read More]

Ten ways to use oat bran
Nurse Carol’s Frequently Asked Questions on Niacin!
I’m always surprised how few people have heard of oat bran or know about its wonderful health properties. While by itself oat bran is not fancy, glamorous, or delicious, when used properly it can be part of delicious and healthy dishes in your nutrition program. [Read More]

Your ON CALL Cardiologist
Let Dr. Friedewald rest in peace
Peter had been told that his LDL cholesterol was good, ranging from 90–120 mg/dl on several panels over the years. So it was a surprise when his heart scan score proved high at 423. A more intensive look through lipoprotein analysis (NMR) revealed that his true, measured LDL cholesterol was 203 mg/dl—far higher. [Read More]

Member Viewpoint
“Given my calcium scores and the rate of increase, I was at high risk of having a heart attack. And that's exactly what happened!” Former Stanford University Medical Center executive tells why his heart attack shouldn’t have happened. [Read More]

Spaghetti Squash
The “recipe” is just the Fanatic Cook’s method of preparing spaghetti squash, an easy and quick solution to dinner that provides plentiful carotenes (110 mcg/cup), potassium (forget the banana!), but only 42 calories per cooked cup. Here's a gourd that cooks up true to its name. [Read More]

Featured Member Question:
Is it true that heart scans only measure “hard” plaque? My doctor said that it’s soft plaque that causes heart attack. He said that the heart scan only measures “hard” calcified plaque and so it’s meaningless? [Read More]
 
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