A Stronger Heart

By Casey Adams, Ph.D.

The heartbeat can vary greatly between people. The average resting pulse for an American male is 70 beats per minute while the average American woman’s is 75-80 beats per minute. While a resting pulse of 60-70 is considered normal, healthy people who exercise regularly will often register resting pulses of 50-60. One study showed that only three months of exercise reduced the heart rates of middle-aged men (45-55 years old) from an average of 72 BPM to 55 BPM. Meanwhile highly conditioned athletes can have resting pulses far lower. A study of world-class distance runners in 1975 showed an average resting pulse of 45 BPM, with some marathon runners testing in the mid-30s.

Stress pushes the heart. One study found teachers’ average heart rates rose from 75 BPM to 110 BPM when they stood from their desks to speak to the class. Fear’s effect upon the heart is self-evident. Most of us have heard of deaths by heart attack during a fearful moment. In a fifteen-month study of U.S. firefighters, there were 101 deaths, at an average age of 51. While we might think the vast majority of deaths came from being burned, 45 deaths were from heart attack.

Television can also be a source of dramatic heart rate rise. Studies have shown heart rates can more than double while watching a sporting event on television, for example.

Research shows this dramatic rise in heart rate during stress is nearly non-existent in those who exercise regularly. Regular exercise puts the heart through the stress cycle. Exercise works the adrenals, dampening the effects of an anxious moment. Exercise puts a type of ‘governor’ on the heart. Adrenal stimulation is muted, and production of stress-signaling messengers such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine is reduced.

A key component to heart health is blood pressure. Cardiac output ranges from about five or six liters per minute. An oscillating blood vessel process called vasoconstriction and vasodilation accommodates the heart’s output. Like water, blood flows from higher pressured regions to lower pressured regions. The amount of work the heart does depends upon the level of pressurization—relating directly to blood vessel wall elasticity. The less this elasticity, the higher blood pressure will be.

We should be clear: The hardening of arteries is a leading cause of heart failure.

Heart-Healthy Strategies

Although the heart is the cardiovascular command center, it is the elasticity and strength of the blood vessel walls and the health of the blood that are the key to maintaining a strong heart. Certainly, exercise is one of the best things we can do to increase heart muscle strength. However, feeding the heart muscle nutrient-rich blood without a hitch is vital. Blocked blood flow feeding the heart causes the heart muscle to spasm from a lack of nutrition—especially important when we are exercising.

Flexible arteries and healthy blood are tied to what we eat and drink. Drinking 65-90 ounces of fluids a day with plenty of minerals like potassium, sodium, magnesium and calcium not only have clear nutrient effects, but directly affect the elasticity of the blood vessels. Research directly links these minerals to reductions of cardiac events because they increase elasticity, improve oxygen delivery, and inhibit platelet aggregation.

Diets with an abundance of overly-processed, sugary foods, and foods rich in saturates and trans-fats flood the blood with oxidized radicals and small-density LDL cholesterol, which damage blood vessel walls. Dropping chips and fried foods along with candies and fast foods from the diet is probably one of the quickest means to greater elasticity.

Essential fatty acids are critical to heart and artery health. This is because cardiovascular cell membranes are lined with phospholipids, made from the fats we eat. A balance of omega 3s and omega 6s will promote healthy cell membranes and greater artery wall elasticity. Healthy ALA omega-3 fats from flax and pumpkin seeds and GLA fatty acids from green leafy vegetables, spirulina, borage and primrose oils are important to heart health. A great source of long chain DHA fatty acids—better than fish oil with its high saturated fat content—is DHA made from algae—available now in most health food stores. Coconut oil, historically considered a harmful saturated fat, is now considered a very heart-healthy fat with its medium-chain fatty acids.

Whole foods are heart-healthy. Oats contain beta-1,3-glucan and saponins, which trap dietary cholesterol within the intestines. Whole wheat, notably wheat germ, containing vitamin E, lecithin and octacosanol, also balances cholesterol levels. Other notable heart-healthy foods include beans and legumes for their isoflavinoids, lignans and various polyphenols; tomatoes for their lycopene and over 10,000 phytochemicals; onions and peppers for their quercetin and sulfur-allicin; apples for their pectin, rutin and quercetin; greenfoods for their phytocyanidins and antioxidant flavinoids such as apigenin and luteolin; and blueberries and tart cherries for their anthocyanins.

Several food extracts have become known for their heart-healthy effects. Nattokinase—extracted from fermented natto soybeans—and bromelain—extracted from pineapples—both have fibrinolytic and proteolytic properties, which help to keep the blood clot-free.

There are a number of botanicals considered therapeutic to the heart and cardiovascular health. These include arguna, hawthornberry, cayenne, cilantro, garlic, grapeseed extract, gugul, wild yam and ginseng. Herbs that relax and reduce stress include kava, California poppy, lemon balm, passionflower and valerian.

Consult with your health professional prior to embarking on any significant changes in diet and supplementation.