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You may have read about a development called chelation therapy – basically an arterial drain cleaner. In the process, a solution is injected into your veins, and it is supposed to bind with the calcium that hardens arterial plaque and subsequently clear it through your urine. The theory that chelation therapy works to diminish the calcium in your plaque has never been proven, but there’s anecdotal evidence that it can help clear arteries in some people. It’s very enticing but still experimental. An even better drain cleaner promises to be a new drug that is a super HDL called alpha-1-Milano. Look for it in the next few years if it passes the scientifically rigorous clinical trials.

Your goal to protect your heart is not only to cut down on the things that chip away at and clog up your arteries, but also to take action to strengthen your heart muscle and decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease. You have firefighters standing by, in the form of antioxidants, which your body produces to keep the Major Ager of oxidation from wounded mitochondria in check. And medicine can help too. Statins work by decreasing the inflammation in the plaque, which slows the progression of the clogging process and reduces sudden ruptures that can lead to clot formation and sudden closure of arteries.

FACTOID

When you’re over sixty-five, HDL is more important than LDL. Although statin drugs can be life saving, the net effect is that some choices may reduce healthy HDL cholesterol too. So you may want to try an alternative, like taking niacin, vitamin B₅ and omega-3 fatty acids, and exercise for lowering your LDL while keeping your HDL high.

Ultimately, though, many of our recommendations are aimed at adding to your firefighting unit so it stays fresh and is able to quench the small fires and occasional meltdowns that occur within your arteries.