Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Greens Hx part 2 Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND In our last blog we were talking about how one of our most popular supplements can be beneficial for our heart. This supplement was Greens Hx and we will be continuing this exciting topic today! So …
Greens Hx….for our heart? Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Greens Hx is probably one of the most popular products at Invite! Everyone knows how amazing Greens Hx is for our liver, immune system, detox and even energy! What most people may not know is that …
Coronary Artery Disease
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
Coronary artery disease is considered to be the most common type of heart disease in the United States. Other names for coronary artery disease include coronary heart disease or ischemic heart disease. (1) While most people have heard the name coronary artery disease (CAD for short) and have even read the name throughout this series just knowing the name doesn’t mean you know what it is. So just what IS CAD? CAD is a type of heart disease where the arteries of the heart cannot bring enough blood to the heart. It is called CAD because it specifically refers to the coronary arteries. So basically in CAD the coronary arteries are unable to bring enough blood to the heart. Related to CAD is a condition called coronary microvascular disease which affects the tiny arteries within the heart. Just as an aside women are more likely to be affected by coronary microvascular disease. (2) What does this look like? Well take a look at the attached picture! (5)
One of the main points I want to make about CAD is that it may be asymptotic. Which is why it is always important to do our yearly physicals which can catch certain risk factors that we may have such as high cholesterol. Having these tests can help to catch something like CAD even when we don’t have any symptoms because if we have the risk factors the doctor will investigate further! That said what are the most common signs of CAD? Angina is one of the most common signs of CAD. Take a look at my blog for a quick refresher on what Angina is. Another common symptom is shortness of breath. As the CAD worsens over time the symptoms will also worsen over time. CAD may also mimic heartburn. (3) Now as I have mentioned before while women can and do present with typical symptoms they also can and usually do present with more atypical symptoms when it comes to heart health. In the case of CAD these include extreme fatigue, sleep changes, indigestion and anxiety. (4)
Now what are the risk factors for CAD? The number 1 risk factor is atherosclerosis because the buildup of plaque lowers the size of the opening of the blood vessel thus lowering how much blood can go through it. Other risk factors include smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and being overweight or obese. Additionally having a poor diet, a lack of exercise and stress can all increase our risk for CAD. (5) Studies have found that approximately half of all cases are linked to genetics! (6) Studies have also found that smoking even 1 cigarette a day can increase the risk of CAD! (7) Certain autoimmune disorders such as Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus and Psoriasis can all increase the risk of CAD. (5) Other studies have found that job stress alone can account for 3% of all cases of CAD! (8) For females under the age of 40 having endometriosis is also a risk factor. (5) While this list is not all the risk factors that cause CAD they are the most common.
What are the most common complications of CAD? Well as we know CAD can have some pretty severe complications. CAD can lead to heart attack, heart failure, irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and angina. (9) As you can see these are possible complications that are better avoided than having to treat after the fact. But can we do anything to lower our risk of CAD? Absolutely! First it’s a great idea to have routine blood work to see what risk factors you may have. Then here are some tips and tricks to help!
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PROTEIN (POWDER): THE IMPORTANT NUTRIENT WE ALL KNOW By: Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT Protein is that nutrient that everyone knows and everyone loves. But how well do we know all the proteins available? Let’s navigate through one of our favorite foods and discuss …
Nattokinase! Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND What the heck is Nattokinase? Where does it come from? What exactly does it do? Is it just for heart health or does it do anything else for us? These are just some of the questions that people have about …
What is Angina?
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
Angina or heart/chest pain is one of the first signs that many experience when they have heart disease. However there are other conditions that mimic angina. One of these is anxiety. Angina and anxiety share many symptoms including a feeling of chest pain, nausea, rapid heartbeat, breathlessness and a feeling that the heart is being squeezed. Because the two are so similar it is important to see a doctor to confirm what is causing the chest pain. As I always say it’s better to be safe than sorry. (1)
Now let’s do a quick review of symptoms. The general symptoms of angina include chest pain that may feel like its burning, squeezing or even just feels very full. There may be a feeling of pressure in the chest area. The pain may also radiate to the arms, neck, jaw, shoulder or back. There may be a feeling of dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, and even increased sweating. Now remember how when I wrote about heart attack I mentioned that in some cases women are more likely to have atypical symptoms? Well that is also true with angina. Some women may have the typical symptoms or may present with more severe stomach pain, nausea, shortness s of breath, stabbing pain or pain in the jaw, neck or back. (2)
Now I know I spoke about how Angina and Anxiety resemble each other and even went over some of the symptoms of angina but what exactly is angina? Angina is a condition where there is chest pain caused by a decrease in the blood flow to the heat. General signs of angina are as I said a feeling of pain, squeezing, pressure and tightness in the chest. Angina is broken down into 4 types. These are stable, unstable, variant and refractory. (2)
Let’s start with the most common form of angina, stable angina. Stable angina is caused by activity or emotional stress. When you have stable angina the symptoms are often predictable because the same amount of activity will trigger angina to occur. The symptoms will improve with rest or medications. (3)
Unstable angina causes unexpected chest pain and occurs while you are resting. Unlike stable angina it is considered to be an emergency situation. Additionally unstable angina unlike stable angina is not relieved by rest or medication. (4)
Variant Angina is also known as Prinzmetal or vasospastic angina. In this case the angina occurs usually while you are asleep and resting. Unlike other forms of angina where coronary artery disease is the common cause of the decreased blood flow in variant angina the decrease in blood flow is caused by spasms of the coronary arteries. These spasms can be caused by medications, recreational drug use, tobacco and stress. This type of angina is considered rare and according to the American Heart Association accounts for only 2 out of every 100 cases of angina. (5)
The last type of angina is refractory angina and is defined as “a chronic condition of angina caused by coronary artery disease which cannot be controlled by a combination of medical therapy, angioplasty or bypass and the damage caused by ischemia is the cause of the symptoms.” (6) Ok I bet you read that and said ok now what does it all mean? It basically means that the treatments no longer help the angina pain because the decreased blood flow has caused damage to the heart and this damage not just the decrease in blood flow is what is now causing the symptoms.
Now that I’ve gone over the types of angina lets go over the most common risk factors for developing angina. Now I just want to point out that angina is a symptom of an underling heart problem. Having one of these will trigger angina. One of the most common is coronary artery disease (CAD). Now I won’t go into too much detail here because I plan on doing a whole blog on CAD. What I will say is that in CAD the coronary arteries become blocked thus blood flow is reduced. Angina is also caused by coronary microvascular disease where the tiny arteries that branch from the larger arteries are damaged. Lastly, spasms of the coronary arteries can cause angina. Now I know these are underlying heart conditions that can lead to angina but what are the risk factors? Well the risk factors include age, family history of angina, exposure to pollution, alcohol use and a poor diet. Having a history of metabolic syndrome, heart failure, heart valve disease, high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy and even anemia can all increase the risk of angina. (7)
One of the most severe concerns when dealing with angina is that it may be sign you are having a heart attack. This is why if you are having chest pain that lasts longer than a few minutes or isn’t relieved with medications it is important to go to the hospital just to be safe. (2)
Now when it comes to angina it is important to concentrate on our circulation:
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