What If We've Got Heart Health All Wrong?

I had the intention of writing an original blog on my observations and research into heart health but when I came across this article it was pretty clear that I couldn't say it any better than how Dr Thomas Cowan has in an article titled What's The Real Cause Of Heart Attacks that was published in mercola.com on December 17, 2014

Many of you know that I've been talking more and more about heart rate variability (HRV) and have written a new book on stress management titled The Speed Trap.  Stress and sympathetic dominance are the most pressing issue we are currently facing and we have a way of assessing and fixing it but most people don't even know what it is!  Maybe after reading this more people will be proactive in using HRV and monitoring their levels with our game changing new stress management programs.

Here is what Dr Cowan had to say word for word completely unedited from the original article.

"The real revolution in the prevention and treatment of heart disease will come with increased understanding of the role played by the autonomic nervous system in the genesis of ischemia and its measurement through the tool of heart rate variability (HRV). We have two distinct nervous systems: the first, the central nervous system (CNS), controls conscious functions such as muscle and nerve function; the second nervous system, the autonomic (or unconscious) nervous system (ANS), controls the function of our internal organs.

The autonomic nervous system is divided into two branches, which in a healthy person are always in a balanced yet ready state. The sympathetic or "fight-or-flight" system is centered in our adrenal medulla; it uses the chemical adrenaline as its chemical transmission device and tells our bodies there is danger afoot; time to activate and run. It does so by activating a series of biochemical responses, the centerpiece of which are the glycolytic pathways, which accelerate the breakdown of glucose to be used as quick energy as we make our escape from the bear chasing us.

In contrast, the parasympathetic branch, centered in the adrenal cortex, uses the neurotransmitters acetylcholine (ACh), nitric oxide (NO), and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) as its chemical mediators; this is the "rest-and-digest" arm of the autonomic nervous system. The particular nerve of the parasympathetic chain that supplies the heart with nervous activity is called the vagus nerve; it slows and relaxes the heart, whereas the sympathetic branches accelerate and constrict the heart. I believe it can be shown that an imbalance in these two branches is responsible for the vast majority of heart disease.

Using the techniques of heart rate variability (HRV) monitoring, which gives a real time accurate depiction of autonomic nervous system status, researchers have shown in multiple studies that patients with ischemic heart disease have on average a reduction of parasympathetic activity of over one-third. Typically, the worse the ischemia, the lower the parasympathetic activity. Furthermore about 80 percent of ischemic events are preceded by a significant, often drastic, reduction in parasympathetic activity.

By contrast, those with normal parasympathetic activity, who experience an abrupt increase in sympathetic activity (such as physical activity or an emotional shock), never suffer from ischemia.

In other words, without a preceding decrease in parasympathetic activity, activation of the sympathetic nervous system does not lead to MI. Presumably we are meant to experience times of excess sympathetic activity; this is normal life, with its challenges and disappointments. These shocks only become dangerous to our health in the face of an ongoing, persistent decrease in our parasympathetic, or life-restoring, activity. The decrease in parasympathetic activity is mediated by the three chemical transmitters of the parasympathetic nervous system: acetylcholine, NO, and cGMP. It is fascinating to note that women have stronger vagal activity than men, probably accounting for the sex difference in the incidence of MI."

What Dr Cowan has so very well said is that if you know your HRV then you know your stress level and susceptibility to heart disease!  What he didn't say but you can also conclude from other studies is that HRV can be used to manage stress and the various other lifestyle diseases.

Stop for a minute and think about it.

You can use HRV to measure your stress.  You can then determine if your stress interventions are working by monitoring your HRV.  If it's not rising then your interventions are not working!

To me the availability of this new technology changes so much about stress management and health care.  All you need is a mobile phone, a chest heart rate monitor such as the Polar H7 and an app.

To learn more download our book the Speed Trap at www.speedtrap.com.au  and then visit our website at www.nirsauna.com.au  to purchase the monitor and our ground breaking stress management program.