The largest study done on heart attack incidence revealed only 41 percent of people who have a heart attack actually have a blocked artery. Of those, 50 percent of the blockages occurred after the heart attack. This means at least 80 percent of heart attacks are not associated with blocked arteries at all.  In addition, medical research in at least 4 prominent medical journals is showing that there may not be a link to blocked arteries and high cholesterol. Statistics even show that life expectancy increases as cholesterol levels rise! So, what is causing the heart attacks?  Dr. Thomas Cowan, M.D. reports: 

“It’s obviously complex, and there’s a number of manifestations, but the three most important things that I point out in my book is, No. 1 … at least 90 percent of people who have a heart attack have an autonomic nervous system imbalance. Specifically, they have a suppressed parasympathetic nervous system tone, which is caused by a number of things, including chronic stress, poor sleep, high blood pressure, diabetes, i.e. a high-sugar, low-fat type of diet [and] smoking …  Conventional cardiologists are certainly aware of the role of the autonomic nervous system, which is why standard cardiology care includes beta blockers, which block the sympathetic nervous system, but again, the actual research on this does not show chronic high sympathetic activity. It shows chronic low parasympathetic activity. I would admit they’re similar, but they’re not the same.  What’s dangerous to people’s health is chronic stress, chronic sleep deprivation, high carbohydrate diet, low mitochondrial function. All the things  that leads to low sympathetic tone. Then, in the face of a sympathetic stressor, you have a heart attack. It’s not the same to say it’s a sympathetic overactivity, which is why I think we could do a lot better than blocking the sympathetic nervous system.”      

This topic is very interesting for the chiropractor.  The chiropractors specialty is removing interference or impingement on the spinal nerve roots exiting the vertebra of the spine.  The spinal adjustment improves nerve impulse flow by realigning the vertebra and opening the nerve root spacing between the bones.  Chiropractic spinal adjustments improve the function of the autonomic nervous system, improving sympathetic tone in the body.  Based on the information written above, chiropractic care can be a valuable tool in the healthcare of the heart. The combination of regular spinal adjustments as performed by the chiropractor, stress reduction, adequate amounts of sleep and a low carbohydrate diet can have quite a large impact on heart health.

My name is Dr. J. Zimmerman and I am a chiropractor.  I have been in practice for 27 years.  My chiropractic practice uses many different chiropractic techniques to improve bodily function and restore health. My chiropractic office is located in Galloway Township (the Smithville section) of Atlantic County, NJ.  You can contact me for more chiropractic information at Health First Chiropractic Clinics,  609-652-6363