Heart Disease

Heart Disease

Heart Disease is a broad condition that includes several heart conditions and includes:

•  Congestive Heart Failure: Occurs when the heart isn’t pumping enough blood to meet your body’s needs, usually does not occur suddenly but gradually worsens over the time.

•  Cardiomyopathy: Chronic disease of the heart muscle

•  Coronary Thrombosis: A blockage of the flow of blood to the heart, caused by a blood clot in a coronary artery.

•  Silent Ischemia: Reduced blood flow to the heart muscle, a form of coronary artery disease with very little pain or symptoms that physical exertion produces discomfort.

•   Angina: Discomfort or pain that occurs when your heart is not getting enough oxygen and nutrients. Angina may be caused by a narrowing of the arteries or muscle spasms in the coronary arteries. Also referred to as coronary artery disease

•   Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction): Part of the heart muscle can be damaged or die as a result blood flow is blocked. If the blockage is brief, and the heart eventually receives enough blood, oxygen, and nutrients, the damage is often reversible. If the blockage is severe enough death may occur.

•  Arrhythmia: Sometimes the heart’s electrical system does not function normally. It may race, become slow, irregular, skip beats or sometimes the heart’s electrical signal does not move in the proper sequence. This causes the heart to beat faster or slower than normal, or erratically.

•   Heart Defects: An obstruction is a heart defect that partly or completely blocks the flow of blood. Obstructions called stenosis can occur in the heart valves, arteries or veins.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in United States. The cause of cardiovascular disease according to many integrative medicine researches is the body, mind and spirit connection and diet is clearly has a big impact on heart disease. In the medical field attention has been given to the risk factors for high blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, and physical inactivity. With the holistic approach the whole body function is studied rather then a  single risk factor and relies on prevention and healing. For example, a holistic view for coronary artery disease (a common cause of death from cardiac causes), the arteries normally are smooth and elastic allowing blood to easily flow to heart muscle.

Nutrients are critical to allow proper blood vessel contraction and relaxation such as magnesium and calcium and other co-factors. When blood vessels “harden”, they become less elastic leading to irregularities on the vessel walls and an associated inflammation results. Cholesterol attaches to the irregular vessel wall forming the arterial plaque. Calcium may also build up due to a lack of magnesium. When the buildup increases, a blockage of the vessel will occur which may lead to a heart attack or other cardiac issues. Life style changes, diet supplements, and regular exercise are fundamental to the prevention of heart disease.