There are many safe and natural, non-drug approaches to protecting your heart. Vitamin K can shield your arteries from cholesterol buildup.

The mineral magnesium is powerfully cardioprotective. Vitamin D is linked to better heart health.

Several lifestyle factors also play a role in a healthy heart. Exercise regularly. Stop smoking. Spend time with supportive family and friends.

That includes your animal friends too — a study showed that owning a cat is almost 25 times more effective in lowering the risk of dying from heart disease than taking a statin!

Especially important? A low thyroid, despite normal tests, was associated with a 69 percent increased risk of heart attack in women. So optimize thyroid function.

In men (but not women), low testosterone is also associated with high cholesterol levels. So I recommend tuning up these hormones in people with high cholesterol, and this usually will lower cholesterol as well.

As for what you eat: favor a Mediterranean-style diet that's rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (from olive oil, fatty fish, avocados, walnuts and the like), and minimizes meat, dairy products and processed foods.

You may also want to eat an ounce or so a day of dark chocolate, a delicious food that science shows works for both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease — and produces primary smiles in everybody who takes a bite!