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Cardiovascular System
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Liz Taylor Dies of Congestive Heart Failure
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| Remembering Her Humanity and Better Understanding Her Killer | |||||
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Legendary actress, Elizabeth Taylor, died March 23, 2011, of congestive heart failure at the age of 79. The Hollywood icon has been referred to as “one of the last great movie stars,” and was best known for her seven marriages and her roles in National Velvet, Cleopatra, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, as well as her Oscar-winning performances in Butterfield 8 and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Taylor also received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award for her outspoken advocacy in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Using her celebrity influence, Taylor raised millions of dollars for AIDS research through the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which she established in 1991 and dedicated her life to; her memory lives on. Taylor had been hospitalized for congestive heart failure since February 2011, and had undergone heart surgery in October 2009.
Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive heart failure is a condition in which the heart becomes so weak that it cannot continue to efficiently pump life-sustaining blood to the rest of the body; fluid starts to build up in the body as the blood gets backed up, or congested, in the veins. Congestive heart failure is one of the most common reasons that people over the age of 64 go to the hospital; it is essentially due to lack of energy in the heart, and is generally the end result of other underlying cardiovascular problems. For example, the heart may become energy-starved through years of having to work harder to pump blood through clogged or hardened arteries (as indicated through chronically high blood pressure, or hypertension). By trying to fulfill its blood delivery responsibilities while simultaneously repairing its valves or muscles that have become damaged or diseased through infection or a previous heart attack, the heart also can expend more energy than it produces and slowly run out of juice. Congenital heart defects, diabetes, nutrient deficiencies, alcohol abuse, and stress can also contribute to heart failure.
The following symptoms indicate that the heart is starting to fail:
If you start experiencing any of these symptoms, write them down to enhance your recall at the doctor’s office; keep a pad in a convenient place. Be sure to report any signs of fluid retention to your physician, such as rings being tighter than normal. One way to check for fluid retention, is to push in the tissue of your feet and ankles with your thumb or index finger at the end of the day and note if you have any little “dents” that don’t bounce back. Have you had any unusual discomfort in your chest or lungs? Be aware if your breathing patterns change or if you become unusually fatigued through exertion. While both genders experience similar signs and symptoms of heart disease, women tend to have more trouble catching their breath during exercise. If you are over 40 years of age and experiencing shortness of breath, especially if you are a women with hypertension or mitral valve prolapse, you should request an echocardiogram.
Women and Congestive Heart Failure
Over 5 million people in the U.S. live with heart failure, and approximately half of them are women. As with hypertension, women tend to develop heart failure later in life than men, and therefore live longer than men suffering from it. Heart failure in women is often under-diagnosed and undertreated in women, though, for several reasons. Women tend to downplay their symptoms as “women’s worries,” and doctors may be unfamiliar with symptoms particular to women because women account for only 25 percent of the subjects in heart failure research; likewise medications are often designed to treat heart failure in men. By learning about factors that predispose women to heart failure, symptoms to look out for and treatment options, women can help protect themselves from such conventional medicine shortcomings.
Are you experiencing diastolic heart failure? There are two types of heart failure: systolic and diastolic, each corresponding to the different phases of heartbeat. As the systolic phase characterizes the heart’s forceful contraction which opens valves to propel blood through the body, systolic heart failure describes the heart’s inability to adequately perform this function. Men and women share similar risk factors for systolic heart failure: a history of coronary artery disease with previous heart attack and long-term high blood pressure, all of which cause changes to the heart’s left ventricle which affects systolic function. Systolic dysfunction can he detected through an echocardiogram test, which can show the heart’s relative flexibility as it pumps blood.
Diastolic heart failure, caused by diastolic dysfunction (DD), is less easily detected. Also caused by the stiffening of the left ventricle, DD occurs when the heart lacks the energy to stretch and fill with blood between contractions; it is the primary cause for heart failure in women, accounting for about 50 percent of the cases. It’s possible that more women experience DD than men because they are more prone to mitral valve prolapse, and their blood vessels are smaller; women with hypertension need to be especially wary of DD due to this anatomical difference. As physicians may not detect early stage DD in women, many years can go by while the damage progresses.
Are you experiencing high blood pressure while pregnant? While (thankfully) it happens rarely, post-partum cardiomyopathy --- which can occur during last month of pregnancy or for 5 months post delivery--- can cause heart failure in women of child-bearing age; it is due to pregnancy-induced high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia (hypertensive crisis). More research is needed in this area to determine the actual cause of post partum cardiomyopathy.
Have you suffered an acute emotional trauma? Heart failure that is abruptly caused by sudden emotional distress is referred to “broken heart syndrome (BHS)” or “stress cardiomyopathy,” which affects women far more often than men. While heartbreak experienced upon the sudden death of a loved one is one aspect of BHS, the syndrome also characterizes life-threatening feelings experienced during other life events which bring about adrenal surges, such as the pain of domestic abuse or violence, the fear of armed robbery, or even the shock of a surprise birthday party. While these sudden feelings can engender symptoms that are similar to having a heart attack - intense chest discomfort, shortness of breath, and an impending sense of doom – most tests performed at the doctor’s office will show normal results. The only physiological indication of BHS heart failure is a peculiar and unique pattern shown in an echocardiogram where the apex, or bottom part of the heart that sits on the diaphragm, balloons outward in an unusual way.
Do you expect to feel the “pains of aging?” More often than men, women will downplay their symptoms of physical discomfort, often dismissing them as the normal wear and tear of caring for children, aging parents and spouses. Many women become “vitally exhausted” as they ignore their personal needs while constantly performing caretaker as well as workforce responsibilities. By expecting to be healthy, vibrant and full of energy because you listen to and care for yourself, you don’t have pretend everything is wonderful or simply succumb to health decline because “that’s what getting older means.” Telling your doctor about your evolving physical limitations is important to maintaining a good quality of life. Often, what’s a minimal symptom for you can be a big clue when your doctor is putting those diagnostic puzzle pieces together; there's most likely something that can be done to significantly improve your symptoms - and even your survival.
Giving Energy Back to the Heart
The good news is that alternative therapies can help patients recover from the disabling symptoms of heart disease and regain quality of life. Energetically supporting the heart can be a matter of making healthy lifestyle choices such as eating a highly nutritious, anti-inflammatory diet, supplementing with nutrients which help facilitate metabolism and protect against damage, reducing stress through relaxation techniques and grounding, and even addressing emotional issues. Supplementing with coenzyme Q10, L-carnitine, magnesium and D-ribose ("the awesome foursome") is especially important to help the heart build ATP, or energy, molecules, so that it can heal while continuing to support the body’s needs for oxygenated blood.
Integrative Treatment for Congestive Heart Failure
Traditional congestive heart failure treatment centers on medications like Digoxin (digitalis), diuretics, ACE inhibitors, beta blockers and nitroglycerine. While these pharmaceuticals drugs do help relax artery walls, keep blood pressure down, control heart rate, improve blood flow and reduce the amount of energy consumed in the heart, their long-term use also creates compromising side effects. More natural alternatives can help heart failure patients avoid the nutrient depletion, weakness, fatigue, lung congestion, vision disturbances, arrhythmias, gastrointestinal distress, headaches, and depression associated with long-term use of such heart failure medications.
Beta blockers are among the safest of all drugs prescribed to lower blood pressure, prevent heart damage and relieve angina, and are one of the only cardiac drugs that shouldn’t be replaced with a more natural alternative.
NOTE: do not reduce or stop taking your medications without your doctor’s consent and guidance.
For more information about congestive heart failure, check out Dr. Sinatra's books: Heart Sense for Women, Reverse Heart Disease Now and The Sinatra Solution: Metabolic Cardiology.
Additional References and Resources:
© 2011 Heart MD Institute, PA |
Natural Rhythms
Your four-chambered heart consists of two upper atria, and two lower ventricles. The atria receive blood from the rest of the body, send it to the lungs then forcibly propel the newly oxygenated blood into the ventricles. The ventricles forcibly contract to pump blood throughout the rest of the body. This series of contractions normally occur about 70 times per minute, and operate to a rhythm set by the heart’s pacemaker, or sinoatrial node.
The pacemaker will slow down or speed up your heart rate in response to electrical impulses sent by your autonomic nervous system. When you experience sudden anger or fear, for example, your heart rate increases as part of an adrenal, or “fight-or-flight,” response; it generally returns to normal as you relax and experience peace. Mind-body practices such as meditation, yoga, visualization, and deep breathing are useful relaxation techniques.
In this segment of 16:9 The Bigger Picture, a Canadian current affairs program, reporters Mary Garofalo and Carolyn Jarvis investigate the health threat of WiFi in schools. They present a comprehensive view of the issue through interviews with concerned parents and children, as well as government, environmental, and medical experts (including Dr. Sinatra), and industry responses to their queries.
Healing engages the mind, body and spirit. Breathing bridges them.
"Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment
I know this is a wonderful moment."
-Thich Nhat Hanh
Being Peace
Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
HRV is a measurement of the beat-to-beat alterations in heart beat, which cardiologists use to help determine a person’s risk of cardiac events. Low variability in heart rate indicates that a person’s autonomic nervous system is out of balance due to too much sympathetic branch (“fight or flight”) activity; too much chronic emotional stress increases a person’s vulnerability to cardiovascular disease and cardiac events. High HRV, on the other hand, indicates that a person is more relaxed and demonstrates greater activity of the parasympathetic branch. People with disrupted HRV are more prone to cardiac events such as sudden death.
The health of the body begins to deteriorate when its physical, emotional, and mental processes fail to work in harmony. Establishing health and balance within a person requires a multidisciplinary approach which may include elements of proper breathing, exercise, release of painful emotions and past traumas, energy enhancement, nutritional healing, reopening of the heart to love, and the development of a spiritual connection.
-Heartbreak and Heart Disease
