Posted on 12/28/2019 5:52:54 AM PST by ConservativeMind
Abstract
Arterial calcification (AC) is generally regarded as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In rats, inactivation of MGP by treatment with the vitamin K antagonist warfarin leads to rapid calcification of the arteries. Both of the Vitamin K (VK)-rich diets decreased the arterial calcium content by some 50%. In addition, arterial distensibility was restored by the VK-rich diet. Using MGP antibodies, local VK deficiency was demonstrated at sites of calcification. This is the first study in rats demonstrating that AC and the resulting decreased arterial distensibility are reversible by high-VK intake.
Introduction
Arterial calcification is an important independent risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, stroke, and renal disease. Patients with arterial calcification have an unfavorable prognosis compared with patients with mild calcification. Therefore, the prevention or reversal of arterial calcification may lead to improved patient outcomes. For a long time it has been thought that calcification was a passive process and the end stage of cardiovascular disease. During the past 10 years, however, it has become clear that several osteoregulatory proteins, both stimulatory and inhibitory, are involved in the calcification of vascular tissue.
In our model, normal vitamin K1 in the diet was not capable of affecting arterial distensibility, whereas during the high–vitamin K diet (both K1 and K2) the vascular properties that were lost by warfarin-induced calcification were restored.
The animal model we used mimics arterial media sclerosis. Media sclerosis is particularly common in diabetes mellitus, end-stage renal disease, and aging. Notably, patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at high risk of cardiovascular disease. These patients often receive a high-calcium diet (to complex phosphate), vitamin D, and warfarin (to prevent thrombotic events). It was demonstrated, however, that each of these treatments is associated with an increased risk of arterial calcification.
(Excerpt) Read more at ashpublications.org ...
Vitamin K2-MK4 does not last long in the blood stream (roughly four hours), so if using it, doses throughout the day would be best. Also, fat is needed for it to work (fat soluble).
Vitamin K2-MK7 has shown a much reduced benefit on calcium plaque removal of under 10%, but as a form of Vitamin K, it lingers in our bodies for days.
Pinging you for some useful information!
A short version, please?
Must be an Eliquis commercial
Sum up which K is best. I use mk7
And all lab rats die from cancer. Settled science, you know...
Three years after my aortic valve was replaced, I was told I had severe stenosis due to calcification and would need it replaced again. I was on Coumadin. I started taking Vitamin K2.
I had to see the cardiologist every three months and every time he asked me if I was ready to go to the surgeon. I told him I wanted to wait for my next echo results. He told me that would do me no good. He also told me to stop taking K2. I refused.
A year after the diagnosis I got my next echo and it showed the calcification was gone and the valve was performing normally.
It’s four years later, I still take K2 and my valve is still good. My cardiologist pretends the episode never happened.
See my post #7.
I also believe that Coumadin destroyed my teeth.
I used to take Warfarin. If I stupidly ate spinach I failed the test.
Now I take Eliquis and all the iron leaves my body.
Must take iron pills.
Costs me a small fortune.
Is there a version of this in English?
Book mark. I skimmed it but didn’t see a list of high K vitamin foods. Very interesting article. (Over my head but still interesting :-)
Years ago I used to listen to a radio show in Houston (I forget the name) where the guy talked about these sorts of things and how there were dietary supplements & changes that could be made to reduce arterial plaque, thus staving off heart disease and other arterial & venous disorders.
He’d done it for his father and seriously reduced the need for a CABG (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft) and I wondered it it might not also reduce the need for other types of peripheral arterial grafts elsewhere (legs, for example).
The nature of the show always left me wondering if he was on target or if he was just trying to sell his services & bio-identical hormones & such.
I just let my fingers do the walking & found such supplements on Amazon, but I’m curious to know, though, would both forms at the same time be beneficial or “overkill”?
Also, how “high” is a “high dose”? Is there such a thing as too high? Are there any cases of morbidity where taking these kinds of supplements are contraindicated? I think we’d need to read some more articles like this to be sure, yeah?
So many questions!! Thanks for sharing this thought-provoking topic.
We always assumed arterial atherogenic cardiovascular disease was a chronic, indolent process. A few years ago it occurred to me that if it were actually much more rapid in onset, say days or weeks, how would we know? I suspect there will be a lot of evidence in the future to indicate my suspicion is correct. The obvious advantage is that if indolent it would be hard to detect and difficult to treat. But if it is rapid in onset a good understanding of the process could have a very large up side.
To be fair, when you see patients all day long, you don’t have time to read random journals.
That is how you can have more relevant, useful ground-breaking knowledge than any of your specialists.
I thank God we have access to such knowledge outside of our doctors!
Pretty sure Vitamin A is the only essential vitamin or molecule that has a toxic dose, unless some new info has come out. I suppose one could consider things like Selenium or Zinc but IIRC they are essential only at pico levels and don’t exist raw in nature to be a problem.
Short version:
Blood thinners can cause arterial damage.
Damage can be reversed by use of certain blood clotting agents.
But (not included above) the blood clots can cause strokes, pulmonary thrombosis, or heart attacks. So you can die either way.
I take this vitamin k supplement:
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Extension-Super-90-Softgel/dp/B07RL1J9BV
You can read about it at the link.
Coumadin is just one type of prescribed blood thinner; there are many!
Now you’ve also got blood thinners in other medications prescribed and non-prescribed. Examples, aspirin, ibuprofen (NSAIDS) and more.
My daughter had to reduce her consumption of medication with anticoagulative properties because when she did her ju jitsu the bruising would be enormous!
Now the question would be: if she (or anyone else) were taking prescribed meds would taking extra Vit K derivatives interfere with the efficacy of those meds?
Then there’s the slow buildup of arterial plaque even in those not taking prescribed blood thinners (or maybe even those taking meds with the antcoagulant properties for other reasons) and the long term effects of that.
“Curiouser and curiouser”....
Thanks for this!
We make kidney stones and HCTZ helps keep them at bay for me. 20+ years ago, I noticed abdominal calcific deposits (plaque) on the x-rays when shown the KUB of the large stone.
I was told “it’s just some calcium deposits” and nothing more was mentioned about it, but I always wondered about it. 20-30 years later, I’ve learned quite a bit more about these things & hindsight is always 20/20.
It’s not what they tell you that bothers me, it’s what they don’t. My physician was a urology specialist, not a vascular specialist. So I suppose it’s not her fault that she didn’t tell me more about those “deposits”.
My family history is filled with heart disease. I’d love to find a way to not repeat history - if ya know what I mean! My brothers and I are looking down the barrel of a gun, knowing that my father’s family all died before the age of 65-66 due to heart disease and/or stroke, so this subject matter hits close to home the closer we get.
If you’re relatively healthy even, this might be something to think about as a preventive measure vs. therapeutic, but still need to be careful as you go out there.
bmp
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