3 Ways to Make Yourself Heart-Attack Proof

Unleash the power of alternative medicine to help strengthen--and heal--your heart

By Catherine Winters

Could tiny needles, positive thinking, and slow-motion movement really be the ticket to ahealthier heart? Experts have long been equivocal, but an exciting--and growing--slew of new studies shows that alternative medicine can have a powerful impact on reducing heart disease risk. Central to these strategies is stress reduction, but it doesn't stop there. Research reveals that alternative medicine can augment the benefits of healthy behaviors--such as eating well, watching your weight, and exercising--to deliver results even faster. They may even be what you need to keep you off medication or reduce your dose. "There is much more to the prevention and treatment of heart disease than pills and procedures," says preventive cardiologist Stephen Devries, MD, coeditor of Integrative Cardiology. Here, three therapies that can have big heart payoffs.

The Acupuncture Answer

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Meet the newest weapon in the fight against high blood pressure. Research suggests that weekly acupuncture sessions can slash systolic blood pressure by up to 20 points, producing results on par with prescription medications such as ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers. By stimulating a few key acupoints near the elbows and knees, acupuncture releases neurotransmitters that travel to areas of the brain that regulate the cardiovascular system, explains John Longhurst, MD, PhD, a cardiologist and director of the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. Electroacupuncture, which uses battery-driven needles, is especially effective, says Dr. Longhurst, because it lets the acupuncturist standardize the amount of stimulation and adjust the frequency. Acupuncture can't permanently lower blood pressure, though. "Once you have hypertension, you have it for life," says Dr. Longhurst. So just as you would with medication, you need to continue getting weekly acupuncture treatments to see results--but with very few side effects or risks.

The Positivity Payoff

Stopping stress in its tracks sounds good, but can people really learn to change the way they react to upsetting situations? If so, can this response lower blood pressure? Yes and yes, according to a study by the Institute of HeartMath, a nonprofit research and education organization. The researchers showed that practicing "positive-emotion refocusing"--a technique that teaches you to interrupt your typical stress response by redirecting your attention--can significantly lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients after just 3 months of daily practice. The results were promising: All participants saw their blood pressure drop, 12% were able to reduce their dose of blood-pressure-lowering medication, and one went off the pills altogether. Stress triggers a cascade of hard-on-your-heart hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline--and positive refocusing sparks a counterflood of energizing feel-good hormones, short-circuiting the stress response.

Positive refocusing is easy to learn. When you feel anxiety coming on, identify what you're stressed-out about, then hold the thought in your mind like a freeze-frame of a movie. As you do this, breathe deeply for several minutes and focus your attention on your heartbeat. Now identify a positive feeling, such as appreciation for a pet or a loved one. "This calms your emotions and shifts your attention away from negative thoughts," says Deborah Rozman, PhD, a behavioral psychologist. Though it can be tough to let go of negative thoughts when you're fuming, regularly practicing this positive refocusing technique can result in fewer stressed-out moments overall. Even if you can't find the recommended 10 minutes a day for positive thinking, a couple of minutes here or there helps.

Silent Signals You're Stressed

TLC Through Tai Chi

Tai chi (a Chinese martial art) combined with qigong (called the Chinese yoga) is more than just a gentle way to work out. Practicing these ancient disciplines can reduce stress and have a powerful effect on metabolic syndrome--a cluster of five conditions that ups your risk of heart disease--reducing systolic and diastolic blood pressure and trimming waist size by at least an inch, according to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. One reason? These slow-mo sports can burn as many calories as moderate-intensity activities, such as walking--but the mind-calming benefits of tai chi and qigong increase its heart-healthy cred. 

Tai chi is sometimes described as "meditation in motion," and research shows that because people find the meditative component relaxing and enjoyable, they tend to stick with it--which is important for any heart disease-prevention strategy. "Sustainability is very important if you want to see ongoing effects of the practice," says Xin Liu, PhD, a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland's School of Medicine in Australia.

prevention.com

Secret Story

Straight out of high school I met a guy. A guy who I thought could give me more love and happiness than anyone before. I left my home, my family, and my friends to live with him, too far away from my hometown to visit often. About two months later we were married.

After we were married I found out that he was on drugs, had some mental issues, and he was verbally abusive. He would only tell me the negative things about me. He would tell me I was fat, my hair was horrible, I was lazy, etc. After about a year I just didn’t think I was strong enough to deal with the life I had chosen for myself. I fell into a deep, deep depression. I was working and spending a lot of time painting at the community college. I would wake up and go to work, then straight to the studio to paint until I knew he would be in bed, then I would go home. I did this for five years. Five years I had no-one, I had nothing but my paintings. I started not to feel anything. I stopped crying, I stopped smiling. I didn’t know who I had become.

One day I went into a gas station and a man behind the counter told me about a video he had seen about a secret. I was very interested, seeking desperately for something to lift my spirits and change my life. The man told me he would get me a copy and leave it in the store for me to pick up. One night after painting I took the video home, and before I did anything I put it in the VCR and watched. I decided at that moment that I was going to change my life by using the law of attraction.

Only a week later my husband moved to Hazard (my hometown) to look for a job. Two months later I followed. Finally things were looking better. I had my family back, I had friends back. I was starting to recognize me again.

I became more and more curious about The Secret, and went out to get the book. I read every page, and with every word I became more and more confident in my ability to make myself happy. For five years I had been depending on him to make me happy. The Secret taught me that only I can do that. Only I am responsible for my happiness.

I found the job I currently have, and automatically found some of the best friends I could ask for.

But things with him never changed - they got worse. He didn’t like to see me succeed, so the abuse got worse. I came to the realization that there was something better for me. My life was going to be extraordinary. I had always been too scared to leave, but I had finally found the confidence. And I left. I didn’t ask for anything... I wanted to leave with only the necessities. My car and my clothes. I wanted to start from scratch. I looked at it as a second chance, and this time it would be right, it would be perfect, it would be exactly what I deserve.

At first I spent a lot of time on me. Learning to love myself and how I can make me happy. Then I started thinking about 'him'. I didn’t know who he was, I didn’t know where he was, but I knew he was out there. The one person who was made for me. I imagined exactly what he would be like, how he would love me, things he would say to me. There were certain times throughout the day when I would smile and think of how grateful I was to have finally been able to find my soul mate. This would be in the morning while I was getting ready for work, on my way home from work, and before I went to bed. I would feel it in my heart, the feeling of love. The way I would feel when I met him. I was so excited and thankful.

One night I received a call from a high school friend who I hadn’t talked to since graduation. He asked me to come out to a restaurant with him and some friends. It was late, and I normally would have said no. But something gave me a little push and said, 'go.' So, I got ready and went.

As I said, it was late, and the restaurant was closing. We didn’t want to go home, and I was already in town, so we decided to go to a new bar in town. I had never been to a bar in my life, and I thought, "What the heck, I'll go." As soon as I walked in the door, my eyes went straight to the back of the room. And I saw him standing there. He was a boy I had dated in high school, the last boyfriend I had before getting married. Before I got to him, his friend stopped me and said, “You know he’s been waiting for you?” I didn’t quite understand what he meant, so I asked him. His friend told me that he hadn’t had a girlfriend since we had broken up, almost seven years ago. I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it. So, I went to talk to him. After catching up for an hour or so I asked him about it, and he confirmed, saying that he just knew we would be together again. He said, "I had prayed to God every night that he would bring you back into my life. And I knew in my heart that if I ever saw you again we would be together forever." He completely swept me off my feet.

He is wonderful; he is the man I had thought about every day. He says the things and does the things that I had imagined. I know that he was drawn to me, and I was drawn to him, all in the process of the law of attraction. We will be getting married a year from now, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me. I know it will be nothing less than amazing.

It works. It really works. And you are the one who is in charge. You control how your life turns out. It can be extraordinary. You can go from nothing to everything you ever dreamed of. I am so thankful that The Secret found me in that gas station.
thesecret.tv