Heart disease is the number one killer in this country. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men die from heart disease. So, contrary to popular belief, women die of heart attack almost as much as men – and more often than they die of breast cancer.
Cardiovascular disease affects 2/3rds of the affluent world and kills 45% of them. The first sign of a heart attack is a heart attack!
So don’t let that happen to you, get yourself checked out and do something to stop yourself becoming another statistic. You can change things.
So what is a healthy heart?
One that pumps your blood and nutrients around your body at an ideal pressure of 120/80. 120 is the systolic pressure, when the heart beats, 80 is the diastolic pressure, when the heart relaxes. The slower our heart rate the longer we live.
To do this it requires healthy arteries, healthy muscles, healthy valves and healthy lungs to provide the oxygen.
What can go wrong?
20% of adults have high blood pressure. In 90-95% of those people there is no obvious known cause. In 5-10% there is kidney disease or an endocrine disorder.
• Obesity leads to heart attacks
• Diabetes leads to coronary heart disease
• Gum disease is linked to cardiovascular disease
• Stress can lead to heart attacks due to the adrenalin rush
• Diet plays a huge part in heart health
• Drugs can increase your blood pressure and upset your heart health
• Lack of nutrients can weaken your cardiovascular system
To help yourself you must:
• Stay close to nature – nature won’t hurt you
• Eat foods raw if you can
• Eat a good diet
• Keep your gums healthy
• Keep to your ideal weight
• Exercise
• Reduce your stress levels
• Stop smoking
• Keep your Cholesterol and Homocysteine levels down
• Avoid drugs as much as possible
• Choose your parents carefully!
• Take nutrients
How do you do this?
1. A good diet plays a major part in keeping your heart healthy. It is important to:
• Eat lots of fresh raw fruit and vegetables especially green ones to keep your body as alkaline as possible, kalamata PDO olive oil is among the best quality olive oils.
• Increase your intake of oats and grains as they bind to Cholesterol.
• Eat plenty of unsalted nuts especially almonds, as they give you potassium.
• Avoid low fibre fatty foods, saturated fats and oils. Saturated fat should account for not more than 10% of total fat intake.
• Use, in moderation, unsaturated fats and oils from plants such as olive, sunflower, safflower, sesame and rapeseed oil and oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, salmon, tuna, anchovies and kippers.
• Cut out all processed salt, it is hidden in all sorts of food including ice-creams. Sea salt is the best salt to use when cooking.
• Limit your intake of bakery products high in fat and sugar.
• Restrict all your sugar consumption as it increases your blood sugar which in turn increases your insulin levels. High insulin levels encourage fat to be stored in the body leading to obesity.
• Restrict your intake of oxycholesterols as in foods fried in heated oils, dried milk powder and dried egg yolks.
• Do not eat too much animal protein. Too much of the amino-acid Methionine derived from the normal breakdown of proteins can lead to an increase of Homocysteine, causing damage and hardening of the arteries.
• Reduce your coffee and alcohol consumption as 1 cup of coffee raises your blood pressure by 5-6 points and 1-2 ounces of alcohol can create significant hypertension. It is important to prioritize Hypertension prevention as well since many heart diseases are related to having high blood pressure.
2. It is thought that periodontal (gum) pathogens could enter the blood stream, invade the blood vessel walls and ultimately cause atherosclerosis. To this end it has been shown that periodontal disease is involved in narrowing of the carotid arteries with increased risk of stroke, said a locum tenens stroke doctor. It is so important to keep your gums healthy at all times with plenty of brushing and nutrition
3. Keep your weight down as you can shorten your life by 1 month for very pound of excess fat you have. If you lose just 5 lbs it will reduce your blood pressure. Being overweight is a major risk as you are more likely to become diabetic which then leads to coronary heart disease.
4. Exercise regularly as this will prevent obesity and it helps to diffuse stress and gets rid of the adrenalin surge. It also increases your oxygen intake which is vital for normal body functioning.
5. Reduce your stress levels as much as possible. Stress is the normal response of the body in an abnormal situation. The body responds with the fight or flight mechanism and the adrenalin levels go up. The muscles become tight and this increases your blood pressure. At this time you are six times more likely to have a heart attack. It is very important that you have a positive outlook in life. For help with this come and see one of our counsellors.
6. Stop Smoking because after every cigarette your blood pressure goes up and stays up for 30 minutes. If you are having difficulty giving up, try hypnotherapy or acupuncture. You can also try vaping, as this is definitely less harmful than smoking, you can buy some vape mods australia to get you started.
7. What is cholesterol? It is a waxy fat-like chemical which is an essential
component of certain hormones, body structures and digestive acids. The amount of cholesterol required to perform these bodily functions is manufactured internally by the liver and a certain amount of cholesterol is vital to the body. We are all encouraged to reduce our cholesterol levels but in fact it would be better if we went further back and asked why we have a high cholesterol level? There is a school of thought that argues that it is not the cholesterol that is the problem but the amount of homocysteine in the body. Homocysteine is an amino acid derived from the normal breakdown of proteins in the body, and too much in the blood can lead to inflammation and damage to the arterial walls. Cholesterol then clings to the weakened areas and builds up narrowing the arteries and causing heart disease. A build up of homocysteine is caused by lack of vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid. How simple is that?!
8. Drugs can cause an increase in blood pressure and coronary heart disease. For example the contraceptive pill and steroids increase blood pressure. Statins, the drug that all doctors are encouraged to give to their patients to reduce cholesterol, and recently it has been suggested that they should be given as a preventative, causes a loss of CoQ10 which is very important for body energy, it is known as the ‘energy of life’ especially in the heart. You lose 75% of CoQ10 and you will die! Statins also cause Rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle including the heart muscle!
9. We are all born with faulty genetics it is the lifestyle that pulls the trigger. Blood pressure problems run in families and can lead to a stroke and weakened memory. If you have a genetic disposition for heart problems then it is vital that you take nutrients to prevent problems. Lack of nutrients leads to disease.
10. Which nutrients should you take? A good multivitamin and mineral is a start and I would recommend a liquid for better absorption. To help heal the damaged walls and prevent further damage we should also take a supplement that increases nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide is a molecule that our body produces to help its 50 trillion cells communicate with each other by transmitting signals throughout the entire body.
Nitric oxide has been shown to be important in the following cellular activities:
• Assist the immune system at fighting off bacteria
• Regulate blood pressure by dilating arteries
• Reduce inflammation
• Improve sleep quality
• Increase endurance and strength
• Improves wound healing
Free radicals (toxins) take out the nitric oxide, as does poor nutrition, age, and a low uptake of L-Arginine, the precursor amino acid to nitric oxide.
CoQ10 is obviously important and I would also recommend a good antioxidant such as Blockbuster Allclear, which is also an anti-inflammatory.
Supplements suggested:
• Arginine
• CoQ10
• Blockbuster Allclear
For further information on the information provided call our Baldock centre on visit the following website https://www.carolinacardiologyassociates.com/our-physicians/.