Bradley Bale - Healthy Heart, Healthy Brain

Before we present the revolutionary science behind arteriologyand how this pioneering new medical specialty bridges a dangerous gap in our healthcare system that puts unsuspecting patients in perilallow us to share a few of the personal experiences that fuel our passion for saving lives, hearts, and brains. One of coauthor Bradley (Brad) Bales earliest childhood memories is watching his fathera famous physiciantrying, futilely, to save the life of Brads paternal grandmother after she suffered a massive heart attack at sixty-eight. Just five years old at the time, he will never forget seeing her face in the casket, the smell of the flowers, and the tears in his fathers eyes.

As a teenager, Brad mourned the passing of his maternal grandfather, Sidney, from a massive stroke at sixty-five, shortly after Sidney and his wife, Elizabeth, had moved to Beverly Hills, California, in anticipation of a comfortable retirement. Soon afterward, ElizabethBrads maternal grandmotherdeveloped such severe dementia that she was no longer able to manage on her own. She spent her final years living with Brad and his family, in such a state of bewilderment that she no longer recognized them. Decades later, he also witnessed the slow death of his mother from heart failure triggered by a heart attack. In 1997, Brad faced the possibility of losing yet another family member when his eldest brother, Shelby, suffered a near-fatal heart attack at sixty.

A driving factor behind Amys study was her own frightening family history: Shes lost three of her relatives to heart attacks, including her grandpa Jack, a kind, handsome man who never lost his sense of humor, even as he spent the last years of his life battling Alzheimers disease (AD), the most common form of dementia. Compounding Amys intense sorrow at watching AD gradually rob her grandfather of his sharp memory and charming personality was seeing the devastating effect of his illness on her father, Wally Butch Hubbard, who spent most of his life in dread of losing his memory. Amy was extremely close to her father and prayed that hed be spared this disease, which sometimes runs in families. At the time, however, there was no proven way to prevent it. Wally, however, did take an important step to protect his heart and brain health: he quit smoking.

Four years ago, Wally, a retired county planning director, began showing the first signs of Alzheimers disease at seventy-five. He was a gentle giant, who stood six feet, five inches and weighed 300 pounds, but was remarkably light on his feet and an amazing dancer. He was also devoted to his eight grandchildren and regaled them with tales of his experiences as an Army captain and tank commander, stationed in Germany during the Vietnam War. As his disease progressed, he struggled to recall details of these stories and was no longer able to play cards and chess with his grandkids. Watching Wally disappear into a fog of forgetfulness was heartbreaking for Amy and her entire family, especially her brother, Brian, and Wallys wife Jan. As Wallys dementia rapidly worsened, they experienced the truth of an Alzheimers caregivers poignant observation about this scenario: Knowing the day is coming when your loved one wont know you is the most horrible feeling of all.

Ironically, during Wallys battle with Alzheimers disease, landmark studies were published in leading scientific journals reporting that with certain specific strategies that will be described in part two of this book, dementia may be preventable. Soon after that, the first guidelines for the prevention of Alzheimers and other forms of memory loss were published. That knowledge came too late for Wally, who died peacefully at seventy-ninethe same age his father didas his family was by his side, holding his hands one last time. Amy and her family miss him terribly, but know in their hearts that hes dancing and sending them hugs from above.