One Australian dies every 12 minutes from it.
It’s the most costly disease for our healthcare system costing $1.8 Billion for medications alone in 2012. It’s the leading cause of death . . . and yet it’s largely preventable!
It’s Cardiovascular Disease!
Recently I was invited to speak to a group about the topic of ‘Heart Health’ and Cardiovascular Disease. It’s certainly a topic that I’ve had a keen interest in understanding since I’ve had family members succumb to the effects of poor cardiovascular health.
Cardiovascular Disease is the leading cause of death in Australia, (plus most developed countries) and in addition, it is a major cause of disability. According to the National Heart Foundation, CVD is responsible for 11% of direct healthcare expenditure with the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme paying out $1.8 Billion in medications for CVD in 2012 (21% of total benefits that year).
So it’s a very costly disease for the healthcare system and a deadly one at that.
So what can you actively do to stack the odds in your favour?
Well, here are 7 Steps to get you started . . .
7 Steps for a Healthier Heart!
1. Understand the Importance of Your Cardiovascular System
Your blood vessel pipeline system measures almost 100,000 km and your heart beats 100,000 times per day performing the greatest amount of work of all organs
Your body is as old as your cardiovascular system – so optimizing your cardiovascular health adds years to your life and life to your years!
2. Stabilize The Walls of Your Blood Vessels – “Repair Your Pipes”
Blood vessel instability & lesions in vessel walls are primary causes for cardiovascular disease. The latest theories on heart disease are showing that saturated fat and cholesterol are totally un-related, but inflammation is the problem.
Increase vitamins & antioxidants from foods and supplementation to help to ward off the inflammatory problems.
Australian Cardiologist Dr Ross Walker states, “90% of the major diseases seen in modern society are related to free radical attack on our body.” and Dr Walker has openly said that we all would be wise to – “Load ourselves to the eyeballs with Vitamins and Antioxidants.”
3. Reverse Existing Artery Deposits – “Clean Out Your Pipes”
Can you clean out your ‘blocked cardiovascular pipes’? Well, Dr Dean Ornish found that you could, with intensive changes in lifestyle. These results were also published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Anecdotal and clinical evidence suggests that results can be obtained much faster than Dr Ornish found, by using therapeutic doses of certain vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids, and trace elements.
For example, Dr Mathias Rath whose research focused on the causes of arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease has seen that increasing the amino acids proline and lysine through diet and supplementation can hasten the reversal of plaque buildup after the underlying issue of artery damage and inflammation is addressed by antioxidant supplementation.
4. Optimize Heart Performance – “Keep the Pump Working”
The heart is responsible for circulating blood throughout the body. It is about the size of your clenched fist and sits in the chest cavity between your two lungs. Its walls are made up of muscle that can squeeze or pump blood out every time the heart “beats” or contracts. Fresh, oxygen-rich air is brought into the lungs every time you take a breath. The lungs are responsible for delivering oxygen to the blood, and the heart circulates the blood through the lungs and out to the different parts of the body.
Since the heart is the ‘motor’ or ‘pump’ of the cardiovascular system – it makes good sense to support it with the right raw materials so the millions of muscle cells get the needed fuel for optimum performance!
Herbs and nutrients that can benefit the heart are: CoEnzyme Q10, Trace minerals like Magnesium, and herbs such as Hawthorne Berry.
5. Protect Your Blood Vessels – “Stop the Pipes Rusting”
Biological ‘rusting’ or oxidation damages your cardiovascular system and accelerates ageing in a similar way that an old steel pipe might rust and degrade if left unprotected.
Antioxidants can also be of benefit here – however, ‘oiling’ your pipes with healthy fats is also beneficial. Krill oil is great in this regard as it can supply the body with antioxidants and essential fatty acids as it’s naturally high in the cardio-protective antioxidant ‘Astaxanthin’.
Animal studies performed at the Medical College of Wisconsin, show Astaxanthin significantly reduced the area of infarction and the damage caused to the heart by the heart attack (Gross and Lockwood, 2004).
6. Relax Your Blood Vessels – “Keep Your Hoses Flexible”
Moving away from the ‘pipe’ analogy a little and thinking of your blood vessels as ‘hoses’ . . . have you ever noticed what happens to a hose when it gets old? It can become less flexible and even brittle. This is another example of ‘oxidative damage’ and we can protect our ‘inner hoses’ from oxidative damage by supplementing with antioxidants.
Apart from Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) where chest pain is related to artery blockage or deposits, spasms of the blood vessel walls known as Coronary Artery Spasm (CAS) are a primary cause of High Blood Pressure and chest pain and relate to tension rather than a blockage.
In this instance, it’s relaxing the blood vessels that is needed. Medication can help, but how can we decrease this tension and spasms over the long term with nutrition?
Supplement with Trace Minerals and Green Super Foods! By doing this, you can supply the body with a rich source of magnesium and other minerals to relax the muscles and blood vessels. Krill also helpful – rich in EPA & DHA – converted into hormone-like substances called prostaglandins that reduce inflammation.
7. Let Your Lifestyle Help not Hinder Your Cardiovascular System
Here are some tips that can help you in this area:
- Consume a diet rich in nutrients & low in processed foods
- Commit to long-term nutritional supplementation
- Decrease Exposure to Chemicals
- Exercise
- Rest, Relaxation & Stress management
- Weight management.
- Give Grains & Sugar the Flick!
We hope those 7 steps help you – if so let us know in the comments! Also, you can help spread the information by emailing it to a friend or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you!
Have questions?
Reach out to your Savvy Team contact, message us on Facebook or use our contact page.
If you’d like assistance in creating a supplement regime, reach out to us or your Savvy Team member as they can help. Also, ask us about our ‘Healthy Heart Challenge’ – a regime you can follow to dramatically alter your ‘Cardiovascular Future’.
Here’s to your ‘Healthier Heart’!
In the ‘7 Steps for a Healthier Heart’ WEBINAR – we do a ‘deeper dive’ into these steps and introduce you to the Savvy Team’s ‘Healthy Heart Challenge’!
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