02/11/2026
❤️🩹 6 million Canadians live with *known* heart disease yet many more have undiagnosed heart disease. Conventional medicine deals with treatment of heart disease that has emerged but not with subclinical cases (ie those cases that have not yet manifested). Most cardiologist just consider hypertension, lipids, high blood sugar, , obesity and smoking as risk factors. However, there are many more risk factors than those according to my mentor in Cardiology in the A4M Fellowship, Dr. Mark Houston.❤️🩹
Cardiovascular disease isn’t destiny — many drivers of heart risk are modifiable, and focusing on them can keep your heart healthier for longer. Here are some key factors that we can change with lifestyle, nutrition and medical optimization:
🩺 Core cardiometabolic risks
• Hypertension (24 h BP patterns)
• Dyslipidemia (beyond just LDL levels)
• Hyperglycemia / insulin resistance / metabolic syndrome / diabetes
• Obesity
🫀 Behavioral & lifestyle
• Smoking
• Refined carbohydrates & processed foods
• Trans fats
🧂 Dietary imbalances
• Low omega-3 fatty acids
• Low potassium & magnesium intake with high sodium intake
🍷 Other systemic & metabolic drivers
• Hyperuricemia
• Renal disease
• Elevated fibrinogen
• Elevated iron levels
👉 Dr. Houston emphasizes that cardiovascular disease is multifactorial — and that addressing nutrition, inflammation, oxidative stress, glucose metabolism, vascular biology, and lifestyle factors can dramatically shift risk.
Stay tuned to your numbers — and your daily habits — because what we change, we can control. 💪🫀