What Causes Heart Attacks?

Heart attacks often occur with no warning and 40% of the people die. Patients have heart attacks following the medical guideline of normal cholesterol. Heart disease is the number 1 killer. Going to a cardiologist is beneficial, but patients still die even though they had their heart checked and are taking cholesterol medication. There is more to it. Stress overload can short-circuit the heart. Patients forget the body is also electric and that emotions are a powerful trigger of many diseases.

Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States, for both men and women. According the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 615,000 people died of heart disease in 2008; that’s around 25% of all deaths in the U.S. Heart disease is also extremely costly; in 2010, $108.9 billion was spent in the U.S. on healthcare services, medications and lost productivity.

There are a wide variety of events that can trigger an already susceptible heart to go into cardiac failure, including:

Stress
Chlorine
Fear
Very strenuous exercise
Infections
A faulty diet that includes too much sugar
Nervous System that is ”out of sync”
Hereditary

Life or Death: The Choice is Yours
Most heart disease deaths are due to plaque, which clogs the arteries of the heart so that not enough blood reaches the heart muscle. This part of the muscles dies, leading to a “heart “attack”. The good news is that heart attacks are nearly 100 % preventable through dietary and lifestyle changes alone!

Sound unbelievable? Few doctors discuss this fact with their patients and it is rare that you will hear it addressed in this manner by the mainstream media or governmental agencies. Nevertheless, it is true and there is much research to prove it.

In 1985, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn began a study in which he got the best results ever recorded in the treatment of heart disease. Using a very low fat, plant-based diet and a minimal amount of cholesterol-lowering medication, Dr. Esselstyn’s patients' average cholesterol improved dramatically, from 246 mg/dL to 132 mg/dL! (The China Study- T.Colin Campbell, PhD. pp 125-127).

The average American has a total cholesterol of just under 200 (due in part to the commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering statin drugs). Yet, in many so-called underdeveloped regions of the world (such as rural China), where people eat mostly plant-based foods and fish, total cholesterol numbers are much lower and heart attacks (as well as other so-called "Western diseases") are much less common.

About one-third of heart attacks in the U.S. occur in people with a total cholesterol of between 150 and 200 (The China Study- T.Colin Campbell, PhD. p 132). As a general rule, people with a total cholesterol under 150 do not get heart attacks. Why then do many doctors only strive to get their patients' total cholesterol below 200? Getting your total cholesterol under 150 is achievable through comprehensive lifestyle changes. Such changes will not only halt further clogging of your heart blood vessels, it will also begin to reverse the clogging that is there now. This healing process begins rapidly; in fact, it is not unusual for patients to find that their chest pain improves dramatically within a few weeks, often never to return! Even patients who have been loaded up with medications and are still unable to walk a block due to chest pain are often able to walk for a mile or more, without heart medication, following comprehensive lifestyle changes.

How to Keep Your Heart Healthy
As with so many other medical conditions, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to taking care of your heart. Here are my top recommendations for remaining heart healthy at every stage of life:

Lower your homocysteine levels. Take a supplement that contains B12, folic acid and B6 every day. Linus Pauling and his associates have released several highly respected studies indicating that homocysteine—not cholesterol--is the primary marker for heart attack and heart disease. In fact, many people who suffer a heart attack have “normal” cholesterol.

Get Enough Omega-3 oil: Regularly taking a quality fish oil supplement is one of the easiest ways to promote heart health. Fish oil supplements also have many other benefits, so it’s a good idea to take them to maintain general health.

Keep Your Insulin Levels in Check: Have a blood test to determine whether you're a candidate for diabetes. Elevated insulin levels can lead to insulin resistance, a major risk factor for heart disease. To maintain healthy insulin levels, be sure get regular exercise, but don’t strain yourself.

Get Your Autonomic Nervous System checked: I can adjust your autonomic nervous system. It would also be beneficial to check the adrenal glands, hypothalamus, and pituitary function.

Avoid processed foods and sugar overload, as they interfere with blood circulation. Plant-based diets have clinically shown to reverse diabetes and many other disorders.

Eat several daily servings of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Eat some fish, and perhaps occasional chicken (grilled or baked, but not fried). Markedly reduce red meat consumption. Avoid foods high in saturated fat (except certain plants, such as nuts, which are healthful fats), salt and sugar. Avoid processed foods.

Do aerobic exercise (example walking) for at least 20 to 30 minutes daily.

Have emotional adjustments to release and decrease your stress. The body is an electrical organism, and emotions can be a powerful trigger for disease. The heart is the body’s center for emotions, both positive and negative, and according to the Institute of HeartMath, has influence over all bodily organs, including the brain. Stress is a killer, and can literally short-circuit the heart. It is no coincidence that many heart attacks occur first thing in the morning, when our bodies release stress hormones into the bloodstream to prepare us to get moving. For those whose arteries are already clogged, this rise in stress hormones may cause a cardiac event. Going to a cardiologist is beneficial, but there is more to it than that. A holistic approach, one that utilizes stress reduction techniques, is the best way to prevent heart disease. Holistic chiropractic techniques provide ‘emotional & feeling’ adjustments.

Involve yourself regularly in activities that reduce stress such as yoga, meditation and prayer. Cherish your relationships with family and friends. Humans are not wired to live in solitude. Surround yourself with people who are committed to healthy lifestyle changes. Support one another and share information; healthy recipes, for example.

Don’t drink tap water.

Many people, myself included, have discovered that healthy lifestyle changes are the best option to prevent, reverse and even cure many diseases. With these lifestyle changes, you can avoid the prospect of clutching your chest and succumbing to the "big one" someday. There have been over 700 studies showing that commonly prescribed statins to lower cholesterol have side-effects with serious detrimental consequences. There may be a quick lowering of cholesterol with medication, but there is a price to pay.

Heart disease is a major problem and watching your cholesterol won’t do the health trick. Half the people who have heart attacks have normal total cholesterol. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both women and men. All you have to do is choose a healthy lifestyle, have holistic healthcare, and verify if your coronary arteries are clogged!