Nick Norwitz explains clonal hematopoiesis, where mutant blood cells from bone marrow infiltrate artery walls and trigger inflammation. He calls it a bigger heart-attack risk than cholesterol, especially as you age. Exercise and sleep can slow the clonal expansion.
This is the number one heart disease risk factor they don't teach you in medical school. It's scarier than cholesterol and a cousin of cancer. It starts in your bones and then makes its way through your blood into the arteries of your heart. Here's how it works. In your bone marrow, new cells are born, including immune cells. But some of these cells are mutants that travel to your heart and cause inflammation and contribute to cardiovascular disease. And with age, it's possible for these mutants to begin to crowd out the healthy cells, leading to inflammation in your arteries and increasing your risk of a heart attack. This process is called clonal hematopoiesis, and it's an emerging risk factor for heart disease. But the good news is there are 2 free ways to stop it: exercise and good sleep. I wonder why they never taught me this in medical school.
