What is the First Sign of Coronary Heart Disease?
“Half of the men who die suddenly of coronary heart disease have no previous symptoms,” says Alan Gertler, M.D., associate professor of medicine in UAB’s Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and part of UAB’s Heart & Vascular Services. “The first manifestation of a heart problem oftentimes is sudden death.”
Sudden Death. That’s right. You heard correctly. According to statistics, 50 % of men who die suddenly had no symptoms. When Heart Disease is the leading cause of death amongst men and women, this statistic is quite grim.
However, in my opinion, this is because there is a real deficit in the medical world of identifying and eliminating risk factors. If you are reading this blog, you will be one of the few people who will know how to properly identify any risks and eliminate them.
Generally, conventional medicine addresses arterial blockage with statin medication, blood pressure medications and surgery. But there are really 2 parts to good cardiovascular health: the plumbing AND the electrical system. In fact, most heart attacks are likely caused by an imbalance in your central nervous system (CNS) and your autonomic (or unconscious) nervous system (ANS), which controls the function of our internal organs. When the nervous system is damaged by stress, disease, medications, poor diet and nutrition deficiencies or environmental toxins it causes damage to this system. One way to evaluate your nervous system is through a method called Heart Rate Variability (HRV). HRV is a measure of the beat to beat interval of the heart rate. By using a non-invasive device, we can determine whether your system has the proper balance of sympathetic nervous function (known as “fight or flight”) and parasympathetic function (rest and repair). Good parasympathetic tone is associated with good health. Studies have shown that imbalance in the electrical system of your heart may be responsible for as much as 60% of all heart attacks.
So, by combining proper testing and treatment for inflammation of the blood vessels and monitoring Heart Rate Variability, you will have the best chance of beating the statistics.
Dr. Kenneth Hoffman, DACM, Medical Director
SOPHIA Natural Health Center