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Cardiovascular System
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February is American Heart Month
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| The "Official" Celebration of a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle | |||||
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Each year since 1963, each U.S. President officially proclaims February to be “American Heart Month.” Although American Heart Month coincides with Valentine’s Day (which, next to Christmas, is the largest card-selling holiday in the U.S.), its primarily purpose is not the celebration of romantic love. Rather, Congress designed American Heart Month to be a means of promoting awareness of heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) diseases (also generally referred to as heart disease) as a nationwide problem, and of generating support for “essential” solutions to this problem.
In 2010, President Obama publically recognized that, while cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the most widespread and costly problems in the U.S., “it is among the most preventable.” He then requested that people take responsibility for their health and the health of their children. Noting that obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease, Obama suggested maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, quitting smoking, and encouraging children to play outside as means of combatting the incidence of CVD. He also expressed support for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s Heart Truth campaign, which focuses on the awareness and prevention of heart disease in women.
Awareness of Cardiovascular Disease as a Problem
For decades, CVD has been the leading cause of death in the U.S. In 2007 alone, it claimed over 600,000 lives, the majority of which were people over the age of 64. Cancer continues to follow in close second, followed at a distance by strokes, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and accidents. One of the main reasons that cardiovascular disease is such a deadly enemy may be lack of recognition of its more subtle signs and symptoms until it is too late. With approximately 50 percent of heart attacks, the attack itself is the first noticeable symptom. It’s no surprise, then, that understanding the modus operandi of this scary disease has become a national priority.
The MO of CVD
Cardiovascular disease is usually characterized by coronary artery disease, a condition of blood vessel damage due to a combination of plaque build-up, silent inflammation and endothelial deterioration. When the integrity of blood vessels becomes compromised, a few health problems can occur. As arteries may start to harden, continually pumping blood through the body becomes a more strenuous activity for the heart and blood pressure may rise. Chronic high blood pressure, or hypertension, is one of the major risk factors of CVD. The heart may also be unable to keep up with the body’s demands for fresh blood and begin to fail due to vital exhaustion.
Additionally, as the immune system constantly repairs damage in blood vessels, blood vessel walls get more inflamed. As inflammation increases, so does the likelihood that plaques in arterial walls will become unstable and rupture. When unstable plaques break open, blood clots can enter the bloodstream, get lodged in blood vessels and block blood flow. Three potentially devastating events can happen at this point due to lack of oxygen: a person may have an acute heart attack, may die from arrhythmia (the heart stops or races wildly because of electrical instability due to sudden loss of oxygen), or may have a stroke.
Heart attacks or heart failure may also happen due to congenital defects, but these are rare in the greater whole of CVD incidence. In most cases, cardiovascular disease is progressive with sudden cardiac events resulting after years of blood vessel damage. While we can’t control certain factors like family history of CVD and congenital defects, we are able to prevent or reverse heart disease through the cultivation of heart-healthy lifestyle habits - factors we can control.
A Few Words on Cholesterol
For years, cholesterol has been blamed for CVD, with the real culprit, inflammation, continuing to lurk misunderstood in the shadows. Truth is, we need cholesterol for many bodily functions like cellular repair, synthesis of cell membranes and hormones, and digestion.
Generally speaking, cholesterol is carried through our bloodstreams by lipoproteins; LDL (low density lipoprotein) is commonly referred to as “bad” cholesterol, while HDL (high density lipoprotein) is usually called “good’ cholesterol.* LDL carries cholesterol to cells in need while HDL sweeps up excess cholesterol in the bloodstream and returns it to the liver. Hence, it’s generally considered good to have lower LDL levels and higher HDL levels, as excess LDL ends up depositing itself in blood vessel walls and contributing to plaque formation.
As mentioned earlier, when plaques become unstable, they can rupture and cause heart attacks and strokes. Too much LDL cholesterol combined with oxidative stress and arterial inflammation, then, is the problem. Its solution requires reducing oxidative stress and inflammation as well as increasing HDL production in the body. Avoiding trans-fats, which increase LDL cholesterol and reducing HDL, is also key.
It must be noted that characterizing HDL and LDL as "good" and "bad" cholesterol is a major oversimplification – it may be okay for TV, but the actual science is much more complicated. There are multiple subtypes of HDL and LDL cholesterol, and some are "good" while others are "bad." For example, while small-particle LDL is very toxic, white, fluffy, large-particle LDL isn't. For more details, see Let's Clear Up the Cholesterol Confusion Once and For All.
A Heart-Healthy Lifestyle
Since obesity and diabetes pre-dispose people to heart disease, Obama had the right idea in encouraging healthy eating habits and regular exercise. Sticking to an anti-inflammatory diet and maintaining a healthy weight are crucial for prevention of cardiovascular and other inflammation-related diseases. A cardiovascular mainstay, regular moderate exercise helps us detoxify, as well as manage our weight and stress. Exercise also helps us increase our HDL cholesterol levels, as does losing weight, quitting smoking, and consuming more soluble fiber, as well as monounsaturated and omega-3 fats.
Emotional stress, which can get the better of our health through autonomic nervous system (ANS) imbalance can also contribute to the development of hypertension and other elements of cardiovascular disease. According to a 2010 study, chronic stress is thought to engender both depression and obesity, two conditions which also play a role in the development of CVD.
We can protect our hearts from the effects of stress by incorporating mind-body techniques like yoga and meditation into our regular routines. Grounding is another great method to help us reduce the negative physiological effects of stress such as hormone imbalance, body pain and sleeplessness. These suggestions are also great tools for smoking cessation, which is absolutely essential to preserve heart health.
A diseased heart is one that is energy starved. The mitochondria within its cells cannot produce enough ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to support heart function. This is often the case with coronary artery disease, where the heart must continually overwork to pump blood through compromised vessels. Supplementing with coenzyme Q10, as well as L-carnitine, D-ribose, and magnesium (collectively, the “awesome foursome”), can help boost ATP production in heart cells and give the heart the energy it needs to heal itself as well as help supply the rest of the body with vital blood. Additionally, supplementing with antioxidants can help protect the heart against degenerative effects of oxidative stress.
The
 Valentine’s Day Connection We can’t put our fingers on it, but we know that love is good for us… whether it be romantic love, or love for family members, friends, or pets, that open-hearted feeling simultaneously fills us with vitality and peace. Heartbreak, on the other hand, as an emotional response to loss of love or intimacy in our lives (as children or adults), can be so painful that we begin to shut ourselves off from vital heartfelt connections and become unable to take in love. We may develop physical defenses like restricted breathing and muscular tension in our chests, which are cardiac stressors, and mental defenses like denial, which helps us “control” our feelings.
Voltaire has been credited with saying, “the heart has its reasons for which reason cannot comprehend,” perhaps illuminating why science-based medicine tends to focus solely on concrete aspects of the heart’s state of health such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Looking deeper, is it our behavioral responses (coping styles) to stress, loneliness, isolation, boredom that set us up for the unhealthy blood pressure levels and body weights, imbalanced nervous systems, and immobility, which can all contribute to the development of heart disease?
Practice Unconditional Love for Heart Health
In light of this, practicing unconditional love, toward ourselves and others, can help us preserve or recover our hearts’ health. If we have experienced heartbreak, this may be easier said than done. We many need to examine our (often scary) shadow sides to come to terms with unresolved emotional conflicts, psychological injuries and developed physical patterns. Doing so may require an alternative approach such as bioenergetics (a body-oriented analytic therapy focused on the muscular tensions in the body that are the physical counterparts of the emotional conflict in the personality) or even psychotherapy. Emotional release is also possible during yoga, meditation or other practices which encourage deep breathing. Journal writing may also be of use in getting in touch with deeper feelings.
Regardless of method, the goal is to release emotional blockages so that we can fully experience, again, the deeper respirations of life. Learning to develop healthy responses to perceived stressors involves opening ourselves up to uncertainties in life (“going with the flow”) and unconditionally loving ourselves in the process; perhaps it involves forgiving others who have hurt us, or maybe forgiving ourselves. At times, we may end up in tears, but crying is the essence of healing the heart; it also initiates hormones that positively stimulate the immune system.
A Second Chance?
Some people reframe the survival of a cardiac event such as a heart attack or stroke as a second chance at life. These incredibly adaptive people see the event as a gift which has opened their eyes to the need for change. On the physical level, they may adopt healthier eating patterns, food choices, and exercise habits, and they also may better attend to their emotional needs after some deep psycho-emotional exploration. Some become more spiritual, and bring awareness of greater meaning to their lives. Such survivors are an inspiration to us all.
More information about cardiovascular disease, and its prevention and management, may be found in Dr. Sinatra’s books: Reverse Heart Disease Now, Heartbreak and Heart Disease, and The Sinatra Solution: Metabolic Cardiology.
Additional References and Resources:
© 2011 Heart MD Institute, PA
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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.
Identifying Subtle Symptoms of Cardiovascular Disease
While living a heart-healthy lifestyle is the best preventative measure against a heart attack or stroke, becoming better aware of the subtle signs of cardiovascular disease could save your life or the life of a loved one.
While these symptoms are not 100 percent gender-specific, women generally experience more vaguely defined symptoms than men.
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Hatha Yoga
"Yoga is an ancient Sanskrit word meaning "union" - a perfect description of an approach to precious harmony between mind and body. There are six distinct schools of yoga, but the type known as hatha yoga is the most popular in the West. Hatha yoga is a seamless blend of exercise, meditation and breathing techniques to help the body achieve the natural balance that is the essence of good health.
Breathing exercises, known as pranayama, help the mind to focus for deep relaxation. Slow, deep breathing patterns improve respiratory health and increase lung capacity. We all tend to take breathing for granted - an autonomic response that we don't think about. Stress and tension can cause us to take shallow or irregular breaths. Learning to pay attention to breathing, especially during stressful situations, will help you stay calm and relaxed, and keep your blood pressure under control.
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Yoga poses, called asanas, balance and stretch your body, increasing flexibility, improving circulation and promoting relaxation. Dhyana, the meditational component of yoga, improves concentration and relieves mental stress. All three yoga components - breathing, postures, and meditation - work synergistically with one another." - Lower Your Blood Pressure in Eight Weeks
