It’s February! The month when we recognize all of those in our lives that we love during Valentine’s Day. (And just in case you are not yet ready for Valentine’s day, here are gift ideas for your valentine.) February, though, is also the month dedicated to our Heart Health, a time dedicated to our own self-care and support of our health and cardiovascular system. As you consider a gift for a loved one, take time today to read this article on how you can also give the gift of wellness to yourself, supporting your heart healthy living.
Promising research is finding that ancient healing approaches are very effective. Some of the most effective ways of supporting our heart are through natural treatments or healing techniques such as Reiki, Tai Chi and more. Each of these techniques do not use prescription drugs, or drugs of any kind, and help the body to find balance, restoring itself to a place of optimal healing.
Heart Disease Is Running Rampant | Alternative Medicines for Treating Heart Disease
In the United States, according to the American College of Cardiology (ACC), somebody dies every 40 seconds from cardiovascular disease (CVD). This is a staggering number of lives—nearly one-third of all US deaths each year.
Concurrently, coronary heart disease (CHD) has the dubious title, the ACC also notes, as “the leading cause of death in the US.” With nearly 800,000 adults experiencing cardiac arrest each year, surely the medical professional community and those of us with hearts can do better!
While this should dismay even the steeliest of hearts, the odds are not insurmountable to saving more lives. Over the last 10 years deaths due to CVD have declined, and alternative medicines and ancient healing practices could greatly decrease mortality rates.
These are preventable diseases and as we’ll discuss next, there are alternative medicines for treating heart disease, whether that’s natural treatments and/or ancient healing practices.
Traditional Treatments Aren’t Always Effective or Healthy, and Current Alternative Options Are Available | Alternative Medicines for Heart Disease
While traditional medicine has some tremendous progress in the prevention of deaths from heart disease in recent years, alternative medicines for treating heart disease are starting to get more recognition. While more research and funding for that research is important, we already see great promise from those leading the charge in this area of scientific research. Let’s take a look at a few examples that you can try today.
As a Reiki practitioner, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Reiki is showing promising results in the battle for greater heart health, especially after an acute cardiac incident. Yale researchers found that “patients who received a 20-minute Reiki treatment within three days after suffering a heart attack showed improved mood and heart rate variability (HRV),” as explained on ReikiinMedicine.org.
On the preventative measures side, Tai Chi (which we’ve mentioned before here on the Healthy and Fit Blog) is an ancient healing practice and martial art. Not only does Tai Chi benefit you in many health-related ways that may preempt disease and disorder, Tai Chi has been shown to benefit people who have experienced heart failure, as detailed by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) (which is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)).
Aside from ancient healing practices, there are dangers to some high-cholesterol, coronary artery-risk patients who would take statins (i.e., drugs that control cholesterol levels) but that they can negatively affect their muscles. In those cases, red yeast rice has shown by studies from the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jefferson University that it could not only reduce LDL (“bad”) cholesterol but cholesterol overall in patients. Hopefully more research is done to prove that Nature’s available resources can be used more in these circumstances to heal the literal heart and body.
The door is open for alternative medicines for treating heart disease, as many more methods continue to show promise.
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So, for this Valentine’s Day, I urge you to research these alternative medicines. Email me with questions you may have about how natural remedies and ancient healing practices can be used to support your health and well-being. And, don’t be afraid to ask your health professionals about how these treatments can complement (not simply replace) their traditional healthcare treatments.