What is the leading cause of heart disease, our leading cause of death?
Eliminating Heart Disease, the Number One Cause of Death
5/5 - (6 votes)
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
Heart disease is leading cause of death in the United States, and has been our number one killer every single year for more than a century. Dr. William Clifford Roberts published extensively on the cause of our top killer. He was the Chief of Pathology in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institute of Health for 30 years before he headed up Baylor University’s Heart and Vascular Institute. He authored more than 1,300 scientific publications, wrote more than a hundred book chapters on cardiology, and was the editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Cardiology for 40 years.
Well, what is the cause of atherosclerosis? Well, first of all, didn’t he mean causes? I mean, there are a lot of things that can increase our risk of heart disease—high blood pressure, diabetes, cigarette smoking, inactivity, obesity. But none of that matters, he said—unless we have high cholesterol. Atherosclerosis is a cholesterol problem. Yes, these other factors can amplify the cholesterol damage, but as long as cholesterol levels are low enough, heart disease remains rare. There is only one necessary risk factor for atherosclerosis, and that’s elevated cholesterol in the blood.
How low does our cholesterol have to be to prevent and arrest atherosclerotic plaques? Ideally, our bad cholesterol—the LDL—should be under 70 mg/dL, which is less than 1.8 mmol/L. “If such a goal was created, the great scourge of the Western world would be essentially eliminated.” So, we could put a hundred million people on a lifetime of sufficient cholesterol-lowering drugs, or be what he called a “pure vegetarian fruit eater,” which is how he referred to those eating whole food, plant-based diets.
Now, if we put everyone on drugs, millions would suffer side effects, such as developing diabetes, so of course a plant-based diet “is the least expensive and safest means of achieving the plaque-preventing LDL goal, but few in the Western world are willing to live on the herbivore diet.” Because, according to probably the most renowned cardiovascular pathologist of all time, the number one cause of our number one killer is elevated cholesterol, which means the cause of our number one killer is not eating enough plants.
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- Martin SS, Aday AW, Almarzooq ZI, et al. 2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: a report of US and global data from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2024;149(8):e347-e913.
- Roberts WC. The cause of atherosclerosis. Nutr Clin Pract. 2008;23(5):464-467.
- Roberts CS. WCR 90: aspects of the life and work of William C. Roberts, MD. Am J Cardiol. 2023;195 Suppl 1:S2-S30.
- Roberts WC. Case reports by William C. Roberts, MD, and colleagues (1961-2022). Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2022;35(6):879-888.
- The American Journal of Cardiology. Editorial Board. AJConline.org.
- Benjamin MM, Roberts WC. Facts and principles learned at the 39th annual Williamsburg conference on heart disease. Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2013;26(2):124-136.
- Ruscica M, Ferri N, Banach M, Sirtori CR, Corsini A. Side effects of statins: from pathophysiology and epidemiology to diagnostic and therapeutic implications. Cardiovasc Res. 2023;118(17):3288-3304.
- Roberts WC. It’s the cholesterol, stupid! Am J Cardiol. 2010;106(9):1364-1366.
Motion graphics by Avo Media
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
Heart disease is leading cause of death in the United States, and has been our number one killer every single year for more than a century. Dr. William Clifford Roberts published extensively on the cause of our top killer. He was the Chief of Pathology in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institute of Health for 30 years before he headed up Baylor University’s Heart and Vascular Institute. He authored more than 1,300 scientific publications, wrote more than a hundred book chapters on cardiology, and was the editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Cardiology for 40 years.
Well, what is the cause of atherosclerosis? Well, first of all, didn’t he mean causes? I mean, there are a lot of things that can increase our risk of heart disease—high blood pressure, diabetes, cigarette smoking, inactivity, obesity. But none of that matters, he said—unless we have high cholesterol. Atherosclerosis is a cholesterol problem. Yes, these other factors can amplify the cholesterol damage, but as long as cholesterol levels are low enough, heart disease remains rare. There is only one necessary risk factor for atherosclerosis, and that’s elevated cholesterol in the blood.
How low does our cholesterol have to be to prevent and arrest atherosclerotic plaques? Ideally, our bad cholesterol—the LDL—should be under 70 mg/dL, which is less than 1.8 mmol/L. “If such a goal was created, the great scourge of the Western world would be essentially eliminated.” So, we could put a hundred million people on a lifetime of sufficient cholesterol-lowering drugs, or be what he called a “pure vegetarian fruit eater,” which is how he referred to those eating whole food, plant-based diets.
Now, if we put everyone on drugs, millions would suffer side effects, such as developing diabetes, so of course a plant-based diet “is the least expensive and safest means of achieving the plaque-preventing LDL goal, but few in the Western world are willing to live on the herbivore diet.” Because, according to probably the most renowned cardiovascular pathologist of all time, the number one cause of our number one killer is elevated cholesterol, which means the cause of our number one killer is not eating enough plants.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Martin SS, Aday AW, Almarzooq ZI, et al. 2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: a report of US and global data from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2024;149(8):e347-e913.
- Roberts WC. The cause of atherosclerosis. Nutr Clin Pract. 2008;23(5):464-467.
- Roberts CS. WCR 90: aspects of the life and work of William C. Roberts, MD. Am J Cardiol. 2023;195 Suppl 1:S2-S30.
- Roberts WC. Case reports by William C. Roberts, MD, and colleagues (1961-2022). Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2022;35(6):879-888.
- The American Journal of Cardiology. Editorial Board. AJConline.org.
- Benjamin MM, Roberts WC. Facts and principles learned at the 39th annual Williamsburg conference on heart disease. Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2013;26(2):124-136.
- Ruscica M, Ferri N, Banach M, Sirtori CR, Corsini A. Side effects of statins: from pathophysiology and epidemiology to diagnostic and therapeutic implications. Cardiovasc Res. 2023;118(17):3288-3304.
- Roberts WC. It’s the cholesterol, stupid! Am J Cardiol. 2010;106(9):1364-1366.
Motion graphics by Avo Media
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Eliminating Heart Disease, the Number One Cause of Death
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Content URLDoctor's Note
For more on heart disease, see:
- Heart Disease Starts in Childhood
- Fully Consensual Heart Disease Treatment
- Should We All Take Aspirin to Prevent Heart Disease?
- How Not to Die from Heart Disease
- Benefits of Garlic Powder for Heart Disease
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