From the Heart

Acupuncture can significantly impact anyone with the above mentioned symptoms. Over time, acupuncture can balance the energy in every aspect of your life, even for those with more acute symptoms. For those with a family history of heart issues but experiencing minimal or no symptoms, it is ever-important to receive treatment for preventative purposes while you are healthy; this will keep the body, mind, and spirit strong, so if illness does occur, you can recover quickly and completely.
Allowing your body to FEEL rested and calm can be accomplished by receiving acupuncture. Restful sleep is critical to good health.

Arteriosclerosis (hardening/stiffening of the arteries) can be largely prevented or reversed by diet and lifestyle factors. In fact, the famous Nurses’ Health Study, which followed more than eighty-four thousand women for more than fourteen years, showed that the risk of arteriosclerosis is very low in women who get regular exercise, don’t smoke and eat a low-glycemic diet that minimizes simple carbohydrates (sugar and starch) and trans fats and contains plenty of the right kind of fats (such as omega-3 fats).

Weight-bearing exercise can be very helpful for heart health because it lowers insulin resistance dramatically. It increases lean muscle, and because lean muscle mass has a higher metabolic rate than fat, it helps to burn excess body fat and thus lower the risk of heart disease. Women who perform such exercise live an average of six years longer than those who do not. Your goal should be to exercise five or six days per week for at least thirty minutes. The best fitness regimen includes strength, flexibility, and endurance so chose activities that cover each of these.

If you smoke, quit! Smoking is responsible for 55 percent of the cardiovascular deaths in women less than sixty-five years old because smoking greatly increases oxidative stress in every cell of the body. In the Nurses’ Health Study, smokers had four times higher relative risk of total coronary artery disease than women who never smoked. But in women who stopped smoking, the relative risk immediately decreased to 1.5. Two years after stopping smoking, the risk dropped to that of a woman who has never smoked.

If you don’t already have a pet, consider getting one. It’s well documented that the presence of a pet lowers blood pressure and is relaxing. Studies on the health benefits of pets backs up the idea that our hearts are touched and healed, quite literally, by the unconditional love that animals can bring to our lives. People have been found to have lower heart rates and lower blood pressure when they are with their pets. If you can’t own a pet yourself, volunteer at an animal shelter or visit other people’s pets.

Finally, the number and diversity of your friends and associates also contributes to heart health or lack of it. Women with greater numbers of children and too many demands on their time combined with a lack of emotional support have been shown to be at greater risk for heart disease. But women who perceive that their families are supportive are at lower risk. In fact, studies show that if you perceive that you are valuable and powerful in the world and have choices, then your heart will be more apt to work optimally. But your risk for heart disease increases if you feel that you have no autonomy.

Understanding your heart is the most important way for you to prevent or recover from heart disease. A healthy and functioning cardiovascular system is closely related to the regular expression of joy and creativity.