THE TUBBY THEORY FROM TOPEKA

About the Book

It is time for Americans and their physicians to learn that there is more to do to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Everyone must learn the difference between LDL-C and LDL-P and non-HDL cholesterol (The Tubby Factor). Everyone must learn what a calcium score and a carotid intima thickness ultrasound does to detect subclinical atherosclerosis. My book, The Tubby Theory from Topeka teaches the above and demonstrates how I used the above tests to prevent heart disease and stroke and to also regress plaque in the arteries in my medical practice in Topeka for the last two years. My goal is to change the Paradigm of preventive medicine in America. The new paradigm is to find subclinical atherosclerosis early with a calcium score and a CIMT to then treat it to stabilize the vulnerable plaque from inflammation and rupture. Rupture of the plaque causes sudden death. In 1 of 3 patients, SUDDEN DEATH is the first sign of heart disease. Reference: Lipoprotein Management in Patients with Cardiometabolic Risk, Brunzell et al, JACC. 2008; 51: 1513 Tim Russert died one year ago of sudden death. The media reported nothing more could have been done for him. Non-HDL cholesterol goal of < 100 was not met. This was never reported. It was reported that his LDL-C was to goal 68 and his nuclear stress test was normal one month before his death. It has been more than a year since Mr. Russert died. I hope my new term that I coined, The Tubby Factor, will bring attention to the above facts. Tubby Factor TM Q- Why did I trademark the term Tubby Factor? A- To bring attention to what may have been the cause of Tim Russert´s sudden death. The media reported that Mr. Russert´s LDL-C was good at 68. Thus everything that could be done for him was done. Not true. His Tubby Factor was very elevated. Q- How do I get the Tubby Factor done? A- If you have had a cholesterol blood test done, you probably have already had it done. Subtract the HDL level from the Total Cholesterol level to get the Tubby Factor. Q- What is the best level of the Tubby Factor? A- If you have plaque, you want a Tubby Factor less than 80. The Jupiter Trial showed that people with only one risk factor had benefit with LDL-C as low as 45. This was a controlled, double blinded study that had a significant positive result. Q- How do I know if I have plaque? A- CAC is a CT scan of the heart and if the resulting calcium score is greater than 1.0, then there is plaque in the coronary artery. CIMT is an ultrasound. If it is thicker than 25% of other people the same age and sex, then carotid atheroma is probably present. Q- What is the cheapest way to get the Tubby Factor to less than 80? A- Simvastatin 20 to 40 mg at $10 for 3 months supply plus Endur-acin 500 mg twice a day with meals. 1,000 tabs on sale on the internet for $90. Q- Is it possible to show regression of plaque? A- Yes. Repeat the CIMT every 2 years to determine if the atheroma (plaque in the carotid) is thicker or thinner than before. In my book, The Tubby Theory from Topeka, I discuss the above in detail and show regression in my CAC and CIMT. Q- Why treat asymptomatic plaque (subclinical atherosclerosis)? A- At a Lipid Conference in Chicago it was stated that asymptomatic plaque has a 2-3% incidence of cerebrovascular events. Also there are about: 50,000 deaths from Breast Cancer each year in the USA. 70,000 deaths from Colon Cancer each year in the USA. 100,000 sudden death from cardiovascular disease each year in the USA. The first symptom in one third of these sudden deaths is the sudden death. I hope everyone will ask their Doctor what their Tubby Factor is? It is very important to know this if you have a waist >40 inches for men and >35 inches for men or if you are diabetic. Feel free to print this article out and show it

About the Author

Dr. Brian Edwards is a lipidologist. He has completed a year long case study on himself. He has eaten 60% fat while on a very low carbohydrate diet. During this year long period he has been on cruise ships for 90 days. These are the end points of his study: 1- LDL particle number 2- Weight 3- CAC (calcium score of coronary arteries 4- CIMT(ultrasound of carotid intimal wall) 5- Hemoglobin A1c (for diabetes) While this is only a case study of one, Dr. Edwards proposes these end points to be used in future studies to answer the question as to which diet is healthy. During the course of the year Dr. Edwards learned an extremely important concept: The Reduced Obese State Based on this concept, Dr. Edwards is introducing a new term to describe why diets fail in the maintenance phase: The Sponge Syndrome. Finally, Dr. Edwards discovered the greatest hindrance to low carbohydrate diets: cross country driving which causes prolonged sitting while driving for eight hours. The prolonged sedentary state is one of the key opportunities for weight gain in someone who has lost weight. This is one component of many compensatory mechanism of the Sponge syndrome which cause people in the reduced obese state to gain weight.