Silent Killers

You’re sitting down to dinner with your family, enjoying a wonderful conversation about your daughter’s upcoming summer wedding, when you feel tightness in your chest, pain radiating down your left arm, and an inability to catch your breath.  These are the first signs of heart disease—a heart attack.

Facts about heart disease and stroke:

• In 2019, over 809,000 people died from heart disease or stroke.
• Heart disease and stroke are known as silent killers—signs/symptoms seem to be abrupt and quick on onset, with death (or near death) immediately following the initial symptoms.
• Poor lifestyle choices, like smoking, a poor diet, and lack of exercise lead to increased inflammation in the arteries (and throughout the body). Over time, excess insulin activation triggers fatty deposition in the arterial walls in an attempt to repair the inflamed arterial walls.
• White blood cells (WBCs) enter to attempt to remove the fat and create further inflammation, contributing to plaquing, hardening, and occlusion of the arteries (atherosclerosis).
• Atherosclerosis is an underlying and silent inflammatory process that goes on in the body for decades, unnoticed. Instead of arteries being smooth on the inside, these plaques create “speed bumps” that inhibit the normal flow of blood.  This reduces oxygen delivery to the tissues, as well as increasing the risk of clot formation.
• Decreased oxygen to the tissues causes death to the heart muscle and leads to heart attack.
• Premature clot formations can make their way to the microvasculature of the brain, causing stroke (this can also happen in the heart, lungs, and kidney).

While the onset of a heart attack or stroke is sudden, the silent causal factors have been developing in your body for decades.

Here are a few signs that you may be developing atherosclerosis: High blood pressure, high blood sugar, or high blood lipids (fats).  Here are a few lifestyle factors that increase your risk of developing atherosclerosis:  a poor diet (one that lacks proper balance of proteins, fats, fruits, and vegetables), obesity (especially around the belly), and a sedentary lifestyle.

The good news is heart disease and stroke are often preventable!

In addition to a healthy diet and an active lifestyle, chiropractic care can play an essential role in achieving and maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system.  When the spine and nervous system are balanced and functioning properly, your body is better able to control and coordinate all the positive input from your healthy lifestyle.  Your spine and nervous system coordinate your digestive processes, enabling your body to utilize all the great food you’re eating, while also managing to maintain proper balance, coordination, and muscular contractions while exercising.  So, in addition to getting your blood pressure checked, make sure you get your spine and nervous system checked for nerve interference.  Both are a problem that can lack obvious symptoms, and both can adversely affect your health.