Few things will put a crimp in your day like keeling over dead from a heart attack.
But I’ll bet you’re increasing your risk of heart attack by committing at least one of these three big mistakes…
Heart Attack Mistake #1
Are you the tough hero-type that gets along just fine without the eight hours of sleep lesser mortals require? Big mistake!
Chronic sleep deprivation, besides making most people a royal grump in the morning, can stimulate an increase in chronic systemic inflammation. This same chronic inflammation is the underlying cause of most of the top 10 killers in the Western world, including heart attack, stroke, and cancer.
How bad can a little missed sleep really be? Sleep researchers have found a nightly sleep deficit of just two hours for as little as six weeks can put you at risk. If you’ve been “getting by” with 6 hours or less sleep a night for months or years, consider yourself warned!
Heart Attack Mistake #2
Have you been spending hours on your treadmill, stair stepper, or running around the neighborhood to keep your heart healthy? Believe it or not, you’re actually putting your heart at increased risk of failure!
You see, what cardio exercise does is make your heart and lungs more efficient. In other words, you’re actually decreasing the capacity of your heart and lungs.
That’s why you might be able to maintain that cardio class pace for an hour and still drop dead from a sudden shock to your system: because there’s no reserve capacity.
But if you’re sick of spending hours getting and staying in shape then I’ve got some great news for you. You can literally build your heart and lung capacity, lose weight, and be in better shape than you’ll ever get from cardio exercise — by spending a lot less time exercising.
The trick is knowing the right kind of exercise to do. The best example of this kind of exercise is illustrated in Dr. Al Sears’ PACE program. He’s literally helped a patient lose 45 pounds by walking as little as 45 seconds. You have to see this one to believe it — but it’s real!
Heart Attack Mistake #3
You don’t have to hang around this blog very long to figure out that I take a hard line against most drugs. That’s because they usually do more harm than good. And when it comes to heart attack risk that’s doubly true.
If you’re taking the commonly prescribed COX-2 Inhibitors class of drugs for pain, studies show you are literally tripling your risk of heart attack. I guess that’s one way to end pain… die. But I’d recommend you look for an alternative.
But if that’s not bad enough, to add insult to injury, one of the drugs doctors prescribe to protect you from little inconveniences like heart attack… is another major contributor to causing them!
What kind of drug is that? Try every single statin drug on the market.
Prescribed to lower “dangerous cholesterol,” statin drugs also drastically lower your body’s supply of the critical nutrient coenzyme Q10. If you’re not familiar with what CoQ10 actually does, it’s like a miniature “power switch” needed to power up every single cell in your body.
And guess which muscle in your body does more work and therefore needs more power than any other? You guessed it… your heart. Yet statin drugs have been proven to cut your body’s CoQ10 supply in half in as little as 30 days, greatly increasing your risk of heart attack.
So if you absolutely must be on a statin drug, it would be criminal for your doctor to not also recommend a potent CoQ10 supplement. Has your doctor recommended one to you? If not, maybe it’s time to find a new doctor…
Japanese Secret for a Healthy Heart