Healthy Heart Care for Men

by Michael D. Allen, DC, NMD
Functional Neurologist

Preventing Heart Attacks: Is Exercise Important? A New Approach Shows Promise

While aerobic exercise is appropriate for your heart and circulatory system it can easily be overdone, and you may be setting yourself up for heart troubles.

By definition, aerobic exercise requires oxygen, and exercise movements generate signals to your brain that keep your heart from beating too fast. Your brain craves these signals and your heart loves the safeguards they create. In fact, cardiovascular exercise may be more important for your brain than it is for your heart.

A healthy heart stays within strict limits. Given average health status, the newest heart evidence indicates that a 44-year-old male should keep his aerobic heart rate between 121-131 beats per minute. That is 30-33 beats every 15 seconds. Sound too slow for you? Keep reading.

A heart that works too hard can lead to trouble. Heart attacks appear to start in the brain and not in the heart. Recent research shows that a heart attack is primarily an electrical event rather than the results of a blood clot. When the heart beats faster than the brain wants to allow, that spells trouble.

While statistics show that men are more prone to heart attacks than women are, the blunt truth is that the American Heart Association predicts everyone will eventually develop heart disease and it is only a matter of time until symptoms appear. Heart attack and stroke are America’s number one and three killers, respectively. Nobody wants a heart attack but how many people are taking proper care of their heart to prevent one?

The dreaded “heart attack” can turn lives upside down. Why wait? Making some changes now can reduce your probability for heart disease and help you live a longer, healthier life.

Here is the point: An EKG checks the heart, but it cannot check the brain’s power to manage the heart. Most people exercise too hard and run the risk of becoming another heart disease statistic. It’s like they unknowingly unplug their heart from their brain and that is when problems develop. Unhealthy heart habits are painless until that one fatal moment, and that means trouble. That is how heart disease got the nickname, “”The Silent Killer”.”

The stricter you are with your heart rate, the harder it will be to reach your target range, and the healthier your brain becomes. Aerobic exercise–done properly–quickens the right kind of nerve signals from the muscles and joints straight to the brain. That turns on the systems that regulate heart rate. Broad-based aerobic control is crucial for proper heart health. Daily moderate exercise –within strict heart rate limits–not only builds heart muscle, but it also stimulates the brain and manages the heartbeat.

We can tell if your heart is getting unplugged from your brain. If it is, we can help you do something about it. We’re HealthBuilderS®. Give us a call today!