Aim For Better Health » heart attack

“Peace Out” for Your Heart’s Sake

admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 22:48:35 +0000

We all learned from an early age that our angry outbursts and tantrums usually got us into more trouble than they actually got us what we wanted, right? But unfortunately, many of us didn’t learn how to deal with our angry feelings in a healthy way. Instead, the alternative to getting in trouble seemed to be for us to just stuff it. Not showing our anger, however, is not the answer because even though those around us may not suffer from our angry outbursts (and that’s a very good thing), and even though we may not put our fist through the wall or throw something (another plus), our angry feelings are still doing damage…to us. Suppressed anger is not only bad for our health, it’s a killer! Anger can strangle blood flow in the heart and lead abnormal heart rhythms that increase the risk of heart disease. In fact, a new study found that heart disease patients who suppressed their anger had nearly triple the risk of having a heart attack or dying over the next 5 to 10 years.

One in five people are stressed out, tense, and angry these days, and with those who have heart disease, the percentage increases to one in three. That’s a lot of suppresses anger waiting to attack the heart! So, should angry people explode with anger rather than suppress it? No, of course not. Feelings of anger need to be dissipated in a healthy, non-destructive way.

If you are someone who “steams quickly” and often, it’s important to learn how to diffuse your angry feelings. When you start to feel angry, learning to literally “take a breather,” through deep, slow, meditative breathing can go a long way to blowing out your short fuse. Or, as in the poem, “If,” you “can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run.” Exercise, especially running has been shown to cool down anger. And, if you find that you can’t get there alone, there are plenty of anger management programs available to help you.

Technorati Tags: anger, heart attack, heart disease

Hurray for the Smoking Bans!

admin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:11:22 +0000

Good news for anyone aiming for better health. According to a report, issued by the Institute of Medicine, the smoking bans in restaurants, offices, and other public buildings has been show to reduce cases of heart attacks and heart disease. As a chiropractor, I always try to get my patients to stop smoking. Some do, some don’t. So, when the laws to ban smoking went into effect, I was tremendously happy for my patients who’d stopped smoking and my patients who didn’t smoke at all, but worked in restaurants and other places where they were forced to inhale secondhand smoke.

The report concluded that exposure to secondhand smoke significantly increased the risk of having a heart attack among both smokers and nonsmokers. The federally commissioned panel also said it found that a reduction in heart problems began to take effect fairly quickly after a smoking ban was instituted and that exposure to low or fleeting levels of secondhand smoke could cause cardiovascular problems. “Even a small amount of exposure to secondhand smoke can cause an increase in blood clotting, constrict blood vessels, and cause a heart attack,” said Dr. Neal L. Benowitz, a professor of medicine, psychiatry, and biopharmaceutical sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, and a member of the panel. “For places in the country that don’t have smoking bans,” Dr. Benowitz added, “smoking bans need to be put in place as quickly as possible. The longer we wait, the more disease we are accepting.”

For more about this report, commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, go to nytimes.com

Technorati Tags: blood clotting, heart attack, heart disease, smoking ban

Trunk Flexibility May Reveal Cardiovascular Risks

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:46:19 +0000

We, chiropractors, are always interested in any new study that evaluates fitness levels as a person ages. The consequences of being “out of shape” begin to show up in dramatic ways as we reach 40 years old and beyond. I see this on a regular basis in my chiropractic patients who are stuck in an unhealthy lifestyle. Heart attacks and strokes are at epidemic proportions in the U.S., and cardiovascular health can no longer be ignored. How can you tell if you are at risk? A new study in the American Journal of Physiology has found that, among people 40 and older, performance on a “sit-and-reach” test (i.e., how far you can reach beyond your toes from a sitting position) can be used to assess the flexibility of your arteries. Why is that important? Because age-related arterial stiffening leads to cardiovascular risks, like heart attack and stroke.

Healthy blood vessels are elastic, and elasticity helps to moderate blood pressure. Stretching exercises that provide flexibility to the body may also slow the age-related stiffening of the arteries. The study found that arterial stiffness among middle age and older people was associated with trunk flexibility but was independent of muscle strength and cardio-respiratory fitness (as measured by performance on an exercise bike).

The good news is that another recent study found that middle age and older adults who began a regular stretch exercise program significantly improved the flexibility of their carotids, a major artery found in the neck.

The study “Poor trunk flexibility is associated with arterial stiffening” appears in the American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology. The authors are: Kenta Yamamoto of the University of North Texas and the National Institute of Health and Nutrition, Japan; Hiroshi Kawano, Yuko Gando and Mitsuru Higuchi of Waseda University, Japan; Motoyuki Iemitsu of International Pacific University, Japan; Haruka Murakami, Michiya Tanimoto, Yumi Ohmori, Izumi Tabata, Motohiko Miyachi of the National Institute of Health and Nutrition; and Kiyoshi Sanada of Ritsumeikan University, Japan. The American Physiological Society published the study.

For more on this fascinating study, go to medicalnewstoday.com

Technorati Tags: cardovascular risks, heart attack, stroke, trunk flexibility