My son was diagnosed with Coarctation of the Aorta at 18 months and received an angioplasty (without a stent) to expand the aorta. This was successful in that it relieved the gradient between the arms and legs blood pressure. He is now 10 years old and the gradient blood pressure between his arms and legs has started to rise slightly again and is in the range of 20 mmHg now. The doctors now are talking about an intervention and/or angioplasty again. He is not hypertensive and is asymptomatic with no signs of his condition other than not being able to run a marathon.
So I’m wondering if the angioplasty damaged the intima and/or endothelium when he was younger and it is dysfunctional now when he’s 10. So my questions are:
- Do you think that the Linus Pauling Protocol could help in restoring the intima/endothelium?
- If so, what protocol/dosage for a 10 year old would work?
- How long would it take to have an effect?
- Any experience with this type of condition?
- Does the type of Vitamin C matter and is L-proline required?
I have only provided him with NEO40 losenges (nitric oxide) and this appears to have helped his ambulatory BP over the general course of the day—not his gradient BP.
Really I’m after a change in BP of only 5-10 mmHg in arms and 5-10 mmHg in legs. And if the aorta at the coarctation site is able to dialate normally then the gradient and concern would be relieved.
There are children with early heart disease - and they uniformly have ultra high lipoprotein(a) "small a", or Lp(a). Or more correctly, all children with ultra-high Lp(a) develop heart disease.
Has your child's Lp(a) been measured?
The higher the Lp(a), the more useful (in Pauling's theory) the Lp(a) "binding inhibitors" (vitamin C/lysine/proline) would be, and the higher the dosage that would probably be required.
it is good to keep in mind that my elderly uncle was given the wrong dose by half (5 pills daily or 2500 mg, instead of 5 grams daily) and still cleared a 70% blockage in his carotid artery in one month (estimated by ultrsound and the clearance verified by surgery).
And there is the chance that your son's problems are because he has a unique requirement for vitamin C, leading to weak arteries. He probably needs more vitamin C than he is getting.
Without knowing his Lp(a) number (genetic disposition toward atherosclerotic plaques) I think a good target for a 10 year old is to work up to 2,500 mg of vitamin C and 2,500 mg of lysine, for at least 30 days, and then evaluate his condition.
If it turns out that he requires this much vitamin C (he may require more) then he must keep up the dosage or risk reverting back to his present condition.
Maybe the docs here will have more ideas.