Perspective on leaky heart syndrome

By Katherine Shagoury

When it comes to prevention, the average medical doctor has nothing, said Jack Wolfson, DO, FACC, at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

“We never talk about prevention, we never learn about prevention,” he said. “But it is common sense. How did we lose the common sense in the healthcare equation?”

A 2018 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that elderly patients who took aspirin on a regular basis had a higher chance of dying. In 2017, the Journal of the American Medical Association published results from the ALLHAT Trial, noting a 18 percent increase in deaths among elderly patients 65 years and older who were taking statins, and a 34 percent increase among patients 75 years and older.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are over one million stents per years, and half a million bypass surgeries. The majority of stents and bypass surgeries, Wolfson said, certainly are preventable, and a lot of them were unnecessary. This is because may cardiologists not only consider best practices when determining medical necessity for a procedure, but also how much money they can make, he said.

Wolfson’s perspective on cardiology and preventative medicine changed when he met his wife, a chiropractor, who introduced him to the concept of “leaky gut.” When a patient has a leaky gut, things get in to the body that don’t belong, Wolfson said—, including undigested food particles, environmental toxins and pollutants, heavy metals, gluten, bacteria, and so on. This leads to immune system activation, which results in inflammation and oxidative stress. Then, this leads to leaky heart syndrome. Leaky gut, leaky heart, leaky brain.  

The epithelial lining of the gut is very similar to the endothelial lining of the blood vessels, Wolfson said. The endothelium of the blood vessels was once thought to be an inner barrier between the inside of the blood vessel and the blood stream. However, we now know that the endothelium is active and vital, involved in nitric oxide release and reducing inflammation.

Wolfson suggests running a leaky gut lab panel including zonulin, actin, and lipopolysaccharides. He may also opt to run a gluten panel on his patients.

Zonulin levels are of particular importance because it controls the tight junction of the gut. Research shows levels are higher in patients with coronary artery disease, as well as many forms of cancer and autoimmune disease. Zonulin also controls the endothelial lining of the blood vessels. Practitioners must check zonulin levels in patients to develop preventative strategies.

These strategies include dietary and lifestyle medications for optimal heart health, which, in turn, will improve gut and brain health, too. The gut, brain, and heart are interconnected, as evidenced by the growing body of research on the gut-brain axis, the blood-brain barrier, and so forth. Our environment, physical, mental, and emotional, all play a role in preventing leaky gut, leaky brain, and leaky heart.

Wolfson offers his top ten health commandments for patients:

1. Get responsible Paleo
2. Get sunshine
3. Get sleep
4. Get active
5. Get hydrated
6. Get chiropractic care
7. Get rid of stress
8. Get away from toxins
9. Get grounded
10. Get quality supplements

Supplements for a leaky gut include a good quality multivitamin, digestive enzymes, probiotics, prebiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, berberine, butyrate, curcumin, whey protein, glutamine, immunoglobulins, and lactoferrin, said Wolfson.

“We have to embrace what our bodies are meant to do,” said Wolfson. “When we do that, our bodies begin to heal.”