Do the stroke and heart disease always began by atherosclerosis?

NO. In my case, I had Rheumatic fever which attacked the aortic Valve of my heart and required that valve's replacement. I had a St. Jude device implanted in March of 2006. Since that time I now function as if I had heart disease. I have completely free flowing arteries no blockages but I now have high blood pressure and have to take several heart meds plus live on coumadin forever. I did not have high blood pressure or require heart meds until after surgery.

Heart disease medications like Lipitor, will give you an increased susceptibility to stroke that is now the number 3 killer in the U.S. Heart disease is caused by processed foods. There is a very tiny bacteria that does not show up on typical blood tests that is called a nanobacteria. This tiny bacteria can be found in cooked foods. It gets into the blood stream and causes inflammation in the arterial wall layers. It bores into the layers of the arterial walls and leaves a blood trail that calcium follows in and creates hardening of the arteries. This bacteria can be found in PCR lab tests, but not typical blood tests.

This inflammation is the "root cause" of atherosclerosis. Cholesterol is an alcohol and is immiscible in blood that is basically water. This how the body repairs tissues because the fatty acids used to do repairing attach to the cholesterol (LDL) and are taken to the damaged sites where the repair happens. Once the repair is done, the HDL cholesterol is sent to the site where it gathers up the debris, including the LDL cholesterol and takes it back to the liver to be reconjugated and used again. There are two types of LDL cholesterol, pattern 1 and pattern 2. Typical cholesterol screening tests do NOT determine the quantities or distinguish between the two. Pattern 1 LDL is very good for the body and necessary for repairing tissue. Pattern 2 LDL is very tiny and can contribute to the plaque build up because the HDL has a problem removing this.

Since the body makes 85% of the cholesterol found in the body right in the liver, only 15% comes from diet. If you become deficient in cholesterol in your diet, your body simply makes more to compensate since it is a natural healing process. If you become deficient in cholesterol by taking statin drugs, bad diet, etc., you then become susceptible to stroke because the arterial walls can become thin.

The first recorded case of cardio myfarction in the U.S. was in 1921. Before that, the incidence of heart disease was almost non existent. When people ate good fats, like saturated fats from butter, coconut oil, palm oil, tallow, lard, the incidence of heart disease was just not there. The introduction of VEGETABLE OILS, hydrogenation, processed foods that contain these bad oils, little nutrients, insecticides, etc. have generated this problem. The SAD (standard American diet) encourages heart disease and the Low Fat, No or little salt, diets are also contributing to this problem and are designed by people with little to no knowledge of how nutrition works in the body.

It's NOT easy to be healthy in America today.

good luck to you

i dnt know