Are You At Risk for a Heart Attack?

Without Warning

We have all heard the tragic stories of the man or woman that died suddenly from a heart attack despite having no previous symptoms that indicated something was wrong with the heart. In fact, around 50 percent of heart disease deaths occur in those who have no history or symptoms at all.1 Sadly, the first symptom is often a fatal heart attack.

Take Control for Peace of Mind

The fact that heart attack may strike without any warning may cause us concern, but we do not have to adopt the victim mentality. Through the implementation of sound choices regarding our lifestyle we can gain peace of mind. This is an exceptionally powerful tool that gives us the ability to become victors instead of victims. It has been estimated that up to 94 percent of all heart attacks could be avoided by improving lifestyle and maintaining these changes throughout the lifetime.2

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic is one of the pioneers in the use of lifestyle, especially diet, to treat heart disease. A key component of his treatment is to instill in the cardiac patient the understanding that they have control. Dr. Esselstyn sets out the principles that will drastically reduce risk of heart attack and then it is the patients choice to embrace them or not. For those who wisely choose to follow his recommendations the risk of heart attack plummets almost to zero.

When Dr. Esselstyn started his program he worked with 22 patients. These were all people with advanced heart disease, the extreme kind that makes most doctors say that there is really nothing to be done to improve the prognosis. Five patients dropped out immediately after learning the protocol. Six more discontinued within the first five and half years of the program. However, the eleven patients who were left made significant improvement. Prior to starting the program the blockages in the arteries of the patients were measured. After five and half years of following the protocol, 11 of 25 blockages had cleared to some degree.

Following the success of the first group of patients, Dr. Esselstyn continued to offer the program to more patients. The results he saw with the first 198 patients are truly astonishing (Figure 2).3

Notice the huge difference in major cardiac events (like heart attack) between those who followed the diet and those who fell off. Undoubtedly lives were enhanced and extended due to the new lifestyle. The diet that Dr. Esselstyn recommends for his patients with advanced heart disease is a whole-food unprocessed plant-based diet. Anyone wanting to reduce their risk of heart attack can choose to follow this diet. Choice is an amazing and powerful weapon we can all deploy in our battle against heart disease.

Exercise—A Great Stress Reducer

Diet is probably the most influential part of lifestyle with regards to avoidance of heart attack. However, other factors make significant contributions to maintenance of a healthy heart.  Exercise is known to confer meaningful benefits.

Walking is a great form of exercise. It has a low negative impact on the joints and offers the walker opportunities for socialization. It also may bring us in contact with beautiful green areas that lift the mood and relieve stress.4,5 This means our bodies will be exposed to less of the stress hormone known as cortisol. Cortisol is beneficial when in balance, but if we get too much of it on a daily basis risk of heart issues will climb. People with high cortisol levels are five-times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease.7 Heart attack is often the final outcome.   

Exercise is a great stress reducer. Enjoy exercise in sun-drenched environments with fresh air and plenty of greenery. Forests are especially relaxing. The trees emit substances that protect the trees from pathogens and insects. When we get near the trees we breathe in these compounds. The chemicals, that have been dubbed phytoncides, help us to relax.7 

Other Important Factors

We can add several other meaningful lifestyle measures to further improve our chances of avoiding heart attack.

  • Get plenty of sleep before midnight
    • Staying up after 9 pm will delay melatonin (a powerful antioxidant) production
    • Dim lights before bed to trigger earlier onset of melatonin8
    • Restorative deep sleep more prevalent early in sleep cycle9
  • Avoid harmful substances
    • Alcohol
    • Marijuana
      • Five-fold increase in risk of heart attack within one hour of smoking marijuana
      • Causes premature aging of blood vessels by increasing arterial stiffness
    • Tobacco
  • Employ thinking skills that reduce stress
    • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may reduce heart attack risk by 45 percent
  • Drink plenty of water
  • Forgiveness and gratitude

Let Us Help You!

Heart attack is a serious threat, but you do not have to live in fear of it. When the proper steps are taken to protect yourself—peace of mind will be the happy result. Not only that, but also the added benefits of improved energy and productivity are quite likely to greet you each morning. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding heart health. It is our fondest desire and privilege to help people prevent and reverse heart disease. Together we can render heart disease as Dr. Esselstyn says “a toothless tiger” rather than a menacing predator.

For more information or if you would like an appointment with Dr. Facemire please visit us at provider.kareo.com/dr-anabel-facemire.  

References

1 Society of Nuclear Medicine. “Many Die Of Heart Attacks Without Prior History Or Symptoms: PET Imaging Can Offer Early Warning.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 June 2008. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080616124938.htm>.

 2 Kahleova H, Levin S, Barnard ND. Vegetarian dietary patterns and cardiovascular disease. Progress in cardiovascular diseases. 2018 May 1;61(1):54-61.

3 Esselstyn Jr, Caldwell B., et al. “A way to reverse CAD?.” Journal of Family Practice 63.7 (2014): 356-364.

4 Twohig-Bennett, Caoimhe, and Andy Jones. “The Health Benefits Of The Great Outdoors: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Greenspace Exposure And Health Outcomes”. Environmental Research, vol 166, 2018, pp. 628-637. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.envres.2018.06.030.

5 Cox DT, Shanahan DF, Hudson HL, Fuller RA, Gaston KJ. The impact of urbanisation on nature dose and the implications for human health. Landscape and Urban Planning. 2018 Nov 1;179:72-80.

6 Vogelzangs, Nicole et al. “Urinary Cortisol And Six-Year Risk Of All-Cause And Cardio­vascular Mortality”. The Journal Of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, vol 95, no. 11, 2010, pp. 4959-4964. The Endocrine Society, doi:10.1210/jc.2010-0192.

7 Phytoncides: The Science Behind Forest Bathing Benefits. December 8, 2020. https://forestbathingcentral.com/phytoncides/

8 Gooley JJ, Chamberlain K, Smith KA, et al. Exposure to room light before bedtime suppresses melatonin onset and shortens melatonin duration in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011;96(3):E463-E472. doi:10.1210/jc.2010-2098

9 Dijk DJ. Regulation and functional correlates of slow wave sleep. J Clin Sleep Med. 2009 Apr 15;5(2 Suppl):S6-15. PMID: 19998869; PMCID: PMC2824213.