Lets Talk About Matters of the Heart
Many of us know the importance of a healthy heart. What many of us don’t know is how to recognize signs that the heart is under stress. As Chiropractors, we are trained to screen for signs of cardiovascular distress. It is important that these signs are recognised early on so that if a major cardiac event is pending – care can be administered in a timely fashion. It is also important to remember that men and women may present differently! Women tend to have more non-specific diffuse symptoms than men. It’s important to recognize some key signs and symptoms so that you can respond in a timely fashion and perhaps save a life!
SIGNS OF AN EMERGENCY
1. Chest Discomfort
2. Sweating
3. Upper Body Discomfort
4. Nausea
5. Shortness of Breath
6. Light Headedness
HOW CAN CHIROPRACTIC HELP WITH CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH?
Chiropractic spinal manipulations to the upper neck region have been shown to influence the measurement of heart rate variability. The upper part of our spine or our cervical spine protects the part of our nervous system that has a direct effect on stimulating and balancing heart rhythm, normalizing blood pressure and improving blood vessel control.
WHAT IS HEART RATE VARIABILITY?
Heart rate variability or HRV is a specific measure of heart health. It measures in milliseconds the time intervals between each successive heartbeat. HRV allows us to have a look into the nervous system to assess how well the autonomic nervous system or ANS is working. The ANS helps regulate balance between the sympathetic or “fight-or-flight” nervous system and parasympathetic or “rest-and-digest” tone. People with a higher HRV are generally better at adapting to stressors and have greater cardiovascular fitness. When you are under a lot of stress, the nervous system is “on guard” and it will not be able to focus on much on its communication to organ systems. That’s where we see a decline in HRV as the brain is no longer as in tune with the heart and unable to adapt.
HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY HEART RATE VARIABILITY?
Stress management is key! Things like meditation, getting good quality sleep, regular nutritious meals, staying hydrated, having good emotional health and social environment will help impact your stress and in effect help you have a stronger more resilient heart and nervous system! Chiropractic adjustments can also help with stress management and helping restore the tone of your nervous system,
HOW CAN I MEASURE MY HEART RATE VARIABILITY?
A great app that you can use to help you measure your HRV today is the Welltory App. Many doctors and health coaches recommend it and it is very user friendly! All it takes is 2 minutes every morning for you to start learning about the state of your nervous system and cardiovascular health! Start taking control of your brain-body connection!
WHERE IS THE RESEARCH GOING?
Dr. Jeffrey Hebery who is the research chair in musculoskeletal health at the University of New Brunswick for the Canadian Chiropractic Research Foundation recently completed a study examining ~1000 children and discovered that girls with back pain have elevated cardiovascular disease risk factors such as insulin resistance compared to girls without back pain. They also found that physical inactivity was not able to explain this relationship. There is still much more that needs to be understood, but the research is now shifting its focus on identifying factors early on.
_____
You deserve to Thrive!
Yours in Health,
Dr. Arti Kumar
REFERENCES:
“Association of Arrhythmia in Patients with Cervical Spondylosis: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.”
Shih-Yi Lin, Wu-Huei Hsu, Cheng-Chieh Lin, Cheng-Li Lin, Chun-Hao Tsai, Chih-Hsueh Lin, Der-Cherng Chen, Tsung-Chif Lin, Chung-Y Hsu and Chia-Hung Kao
Suboccipital decompression enhances heart rate variability indices of cardiac control in healthy subjects.”
PD Giles, KL Hensel, CF Pacchia, ML Smith
“Effect of Chiropractic Care on Heart Rate Variability and Pain in a Multisite Clinical Study”
John Zhang MD PhD, Douglas Dean PhD, Dennis Nosco, PhD , Dennis Strathopulos, DC , Minas Floros, DC