April 18, 2010 SUNDAY
"See with your heart not with your eyes for beauty lies everywhere. The mind reasons BUT the heart knows."
My heart certainly knows. I love the emotional heart. When we discuss the lifestyle of self-esteem (the fifth lifestyle change), you will see how a low self-esteem can affect your heart chakra. Everyone, including myself, has our emotional heart hurt at one time or another. The "art of letting go" is the answer as is prayer.
For the last seven days, I have concentrated on how a dietary lifestyle change can positively affect cardiovascular disease. Let's take it one step further. I concentrated on cholesterol, its effect, its treatment and even points about the Mediterranean Diet.
For most people, the plaque can develop in the coronary arteries, the arteries that supply the heart. You may slowly develop symptoms of coronary artery disease (CAD) such as chest pain, dizziness, angina, left arm pain and even nausea. Your medical options for treatment can include drugs, stents, angioplasty, drug-eluding stents and even a coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). From reading the blog, I hope you have learned that there are other options, which include dietary and exercise changes, supplements, herbs and even meditation.
Meditation is the fourth lifestyle change to be discussed in the blog in the next few months. Studies reveal that transcendental meditation provides a 50% reduction in heart attacks, strokes and death. This study was done at the Medical College of Wisconsin and presented at the annual American Heart Association meeting. You can learn to meditate before we discuss it in the coming months at http://www.tm.org/ It is a shame there is no prescription for meditation...except on this blog.
You can refer back to an earlier blog called 4-7-8. When you have an abnormal nuclear stress test, you doctor will consider only one next option. This is the invasive angiogram or catheterization. This is the gold standard in cardiology. There is also a non-invasive angiogram called a CTA with a calcium score. I use http://www.mdr.com/ facilities for all my testing. Even after either of these two procedures, the physician must decide what to do next. Will it be a stent or angioplasty, which might lead to a bypass? Does he consider Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP)? Although this will be discussed in future blogs, check out http://www.fratellonemedical.com/ for more information.
Meditation is the fourth lifestyle change to be discussed in the blog in the next few months. Studies reveal that transcendental meditation provides a 50% reduction in heart attacks, strokes and death. This study was done at the Medical College of Wisconsin and presented at the annual American Heart Association meeting. You can learn to meditate before we discuss it in the coming months at http://www.tm.org/ It is a shame there is no prescription for meditation...except on this blog.
You can refer back to an earlier blog called 4-7-8. When you have an abnormal nuclear stress test, you doctor will consider only one next option. This is the invasive angiogram or catheterization. This is the gold standard in cardiology. There is also a non-invasive angiogram called a CTA with a calcium score. I use http://www.mdr.com/ facilities for all my testing. Even after either of these two procedures, the physician must decide what to do next. Will it be a stent or angioplasty, which might lead to a bypass? Does he consider Enhanced External Counterpulsation (EECP)? Although this will be discussed in future blogs, check out http://www.fratellonemedical.com/ for more information.
I believe that bypass grafting or surgery is a band-aid approach. If it truly works, then why did former president Clinton need to re-admit this past February for chest pain. His bypass grafts were clogging up. Did he change his dietary lifestyle? I think not. Did he reduce his stress by using meditation? I think not. Bob Atkins would make me laugh when he said that angioplasty or stents are like a Lays Potato Chip. He would say, "Once you have one stent, you can't have just one." He was correct in his assumption.
You may think I do not use invasive angiograms, considering the bypass surgery and utilization of the Cardiothoracic surgeons for valve replacements. If you think I DO NOT use these medical modalities, you are totally wrong. I bridge the gap between conventional(allopathic medicine) and integrative medicine. Those of you who know me know that I myself have had valves replaced. I was born with a congenital heart disease that did require surgical intervention. If not, then I would not be here writing this blog tonight.
The needlepoint canvas below is a painted canvas. It might look plain and simple, but when different threads--cotton floss, braided thread and even wool--are added, it will turn magically into a beautiful swallow butterfly.
Photo credit: Rick Byrd
Until tomorrow...
You may think I do not use invasive angiograms, considering the bypass surgery and utilization of the Cardiothoracic surgeons for valve replacements. If you think I DO NOT use these medical modalities, you are totally wrong. I bridge the gap between conventional(allopathic medicine) and integrative medicine. Those of you who know me know that I myself have had valves replaced. I was born with a congenital heart disease that did require surgical intervention. If not, then I would not be here writing this blog tonight.
The needlepoint canvas below is a painted canvas. It might look plain and simple, but when different threads--cotton floss, braided thread and even wool--are added, it will turn magically into a beautiful swallow butterfly.
Photo credit: Rick Byrd
Until tomorrow...
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