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One of the most common treatments for a certain type of irregular heartbeat (technically known as atrial fibrillation) is a procedure called cardioversion.

Cardioversion involves applying an electrical shock to the heart to attempt to restore a normal heart rhythm.

It sounds a bit frightening, but it’s actually very safe and is often successful – at least in the short term.

The problem is, the fibrillation frequently returns – sometimes after a length of time, but sometimes quite promptly, within just a few days.

And when prompt recurrences happen, it can be quite upsetting.

Patients are often understandably discouraged and don’t want to undergo repeat treatment.

Recently a group of Greek researchers reported that vitamin C – yes, that’s just “regular” vitamin C – could significantly decrease recurrence of atrial fibrillation after cardioversion treatment.

In this study, 44 individuals with this problem were “randomized” evenly to take either no vitamin C, or 2 grams of vitamin C 12 hours before cardioversion, and then 500mg twice daily for the next seven days.

Only one of the patients given vitamin C had a relapse of atrial fibrillation, while eight (36%) of the patients not given the vitamin had relapses.

The researchers also found two other positive changes in the group given vitamin C: Both their white blood cell levels and fibrinogen levels fell significantly, but neither dropped in any of the control patients.

Markers of inflammation were also significantly higher among patients who had a recurrence of atrial fibrillation, compared with those who did not.

So far, there’s no longer-term follow-up to this research, but taking 2 grams (or perhaps a bit more) of vitamin C each day certainly can’t hurt – and there are many other health benefits to it as well.

Your health

Libido and Health

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Meet One of Your Heart Health’s Most Potent Allies!

I’ve been studying ways to boost heart health for many years, and resveratrol is one of the most powerful substances I have come across.

There are actually two kinds of resveratrol, “cis-resveratrol” and “trans-resveratrol.” It’s the second kind that appears to be the most beneficial.

One way it protects your heart is by preventing blood clots, a major cause of heart attack, particularly in older folks.

In one study, published in the International Journal of Molecular Medicine, researchers gave healthy male subjects a blood-clotting factor along with high doses of trans-resveratrol.

They found that trans-resveratrol prevented their blood platelets from sticking together.

Not only does this help your heart - it also prevents strokes.

Another way it powers your heart involves a miraculous capability called “angio-genesis,” a fancy term for blood vessel growth.

Trans-resveratrol acts a bit like bypass surgery by creating new blood vessels to deliver more oxygen to your heart when it’s not getting enough.

Finally, trans-resveratrol drives down levels of bad fats called triglycerides. These are the fatty acids that clog your arteries.

Scientists have been able to lower triglyceride levels by as much as 15 % in pre-menopausal women by using concentrated grape powder.

Your health

Libido and Health

P.S. Resveratrol - where to buy!

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A must read: A direct link between heart attack and our emotions. We live in such a stressful world, the fight or flight hormones in our body is working overtime and the result is deteriorating health.

We live our lives in a corner and when somebody or something rattles our cage we want to destroy them, at least mentally. So we cannot help but live in a constant state of anger - well now you know what that pent up emotions are and they can kill you, do something about it today.

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Tired and angry? Both emotions may predict heart attacks
American Heart Association meeting report (article compliments EurekAlert.com)

HONOLULU, April 24 – Anger and exhaustion may result in future heart attacks or sudden cardiac death, according to research presented today at the American Heart Association’s Asia Pacific Scientific Forum.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to report the combined effects of these two psychological risk factors,” says Janice Williams, Ph.D., M.P.H., an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and lead author of the study.

The study includes a bi-ethnic (black and white) sample of middle-aged men and women. It assessed the occurrence of heart attacks over nine years, a longer observation period than reported in previous studies.

Participants were members of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. ARIC is a large prospective study of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors conducted in four U. S. communities: suburban Minneapolis, Minn.; Washington County, Md.; Forsyth County, N.C.; and Jackson, Miss.

From 1990-98, researchers followed 12,453 men and women who were between the ages of 45 and 64 and had not had a heart attack when the study began to assess the occurrence of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death.

Participants took the 10-item Spielberger Trait Anger Scale to test for levels of trait anger (TA) and the 21-item Maastricht Questionnaire to determine levels of vital exhaustion (VE). TA is identified as a person’s proneness to anger, and VE is defined as excessive fatigue, increased irritability and feelings of dejection or defeat.

Some sample items participants ranked in the anger survey include: “I feel annoyed when I am not given recognition for doing good work”; “I am quick-tempered”; and, “I get angry when I am slowed down by others’ mistakes.” Questions from the exhaustion survey included: “Have you experienced a feeling of hopelessness recently?”; “Do you ever wake up with a feeling of exhaustion and fatigue?”; and, “Do you have a feeling that you can’t cope?” TA and VE were ranked in groups of high, medium and low.

The study found that persons who scored in high TA or high VE levels had a 42 percent greater long-term risk of heart attack or sudden cardiac death than those in the lowest tertile of each condition.

Furthermore, Williams says, “People who reported being highly prone to anger and also scored high for vital exhaustion were 69 percent more likely to have a heart attack or a sudden cardiac death than their counterparts who reported being less prone to anger and scored low for vital exhaustion.”

In sharp contrast, for both the low and medium levels of TA, the association between TA and VE was only appreciable when VE was in the highest tertile.

Researchers found the results were true even after taking into account several of the established biologic and sociodemographic risk factors for coronary heart disease, such as hypertension, smoking, gender, diabetes, low education and cholesterol levels.

Williams says the results of the study confirm previous findings that support a positive association between psychological stressors and coronary heart disease. The study suggests that not only are anger and vital exhaustion short-term predictors of heart attack, but that they also may predict long-term heart attack risk.

“This study provides convincing evidence that high anger and high vital exhaustion preceded the heart attack and was not a consequence of it,” Williams says. “Epidemiologic research should continue to focus on the influence of psychological factors on coronary heart disease.”

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Co-authors are David J. Couper, Ph.D.; Catherine P. Sanford, M.S.P.H.; Verna Lamar-Welch, Ph.D., M.P.H.; Herman A. Tyroler, M.D.; and Tom Mosely, Ph.D.

CONTACT:
Darcy Spitz or Carole Bullock
AHA News Media Relations
Hawaii Convention Center
Honolulu, Hawaii
Ph. 808-792-6515
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It is important that you prevent anger to cause a heart attack, learn how to relax, vent your emotions in a positive manner like exercise, you’ll be a lot happier, try some easy stress management.

Your health

Libido and Health

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STOP - Do you know how to stop a heart attack!

These 3 emergency measures can save your life!

*** Cayenne liquid under the tongue - 30 drops
*** One teaspoon cayenne powder under the tongue
*** Dissolve an aspirin under your tongue to prevent death and reduce arterial blockage

I sincerely hope that you’ll never need this information.

What to do when you are alone!

It is obviously better to never have to experience a heart attack, you can prevent heart disease through positive lifestyle changes, get more info here…

Your health

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One of the main causes of heart attack and strokes are clots in your arteries that block or restrict your blood flow to your heart and brain.

What causes a heart attack? See this video for a simple, logical explanation.

But take heart, as the “old people” used to say prevention is better than cure.

By making simple changes and /or additions to your diet you can prevent clots from forming in the 1st place.

These 7 natural cures are:

1) Omega-3 fatty acids, you’ll) find it naturally in “organic” beef, “wild” fish, flaxseed, flaxseed-oil, walnuts
and walnut oil.
2) Vitamin D, you’ll find it in cod liver oil, especially if you’ve got a family history.
3) Gingko, make sure you take the correct amount, usually around 40 to 80 milligrams 2 to 3 times a day.
4) Niacin, it is best to use a time-release formula.
5) L-arginine, this amino acid dilates your arteries which promotes blood flow.
6) Nattokinase, known as a natural clot destroyer, this enzyme literally eats the clot up.
7) Exercise, yes I know it is not a supplement but it might as well be. There are so many positive results from exercise it might as well me a medication.

It is very important to keep tabs on your heart health, especially if you’re under a lot of stress and have a family history of heart disease. Recent studies confirm that one of the major heart attack triggers is emotional stress e.g. losing a family member, your house, financial disasters, etc.

Your health

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