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The cardiovascular system consists of the heart and blood vessels, and is responsible for carrying nutrients and oxygen to the tissues and removing carbon dioxide and other waste from them. Diseases affecting the cardiovascular system include arteriosclerosis, coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, arrhythmia, heart failure, hypertension, orthostatic hypotension, shock, endocarditis, diseases of the aorta and its branches, disorders of the peripheral vascular system and congenital heart disease. February is the American Heart Association’s Heart Health Awareness Month, emphasizing the importance of cardiovascular health and the dangers of cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading health threat, with heart disease and stroke topping the list of the first and second leading causes of death worldwide. One out of every two men and one out of every three women will develop heart disease sometime in their life.

Despite dramatic medical advances over the past 50 years, heart disease remains a leading cause of death globally and the number one cause of death in the United States. Cardiovascular disease is not just a man’s disease; in women, the condition is responsible for about 29 percent of deaths, reports the CDC. Although more men die of heart disease than women, females tend to be underdiagnosed, often to the point that it’s too late to help them once the condition is discovered.

By integrating acupuncture and Oriental medicine into your heart-healthy lifestyle, you can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by as much as 80 percent. Steps to prevention include managing high blood pressure and cholesterol, eating healthy, maintaining a healthy weight, physical activity, reducing stress, improving sleep quality and smoking cessation–all of which can be helped with acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

Five Steps to a Healthy Heart with Acupuncture

1. Manage High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure makes the heart work harder, increasing its oxygen demands and contributing to angina. This excessive pressure can lead to an enlarged heart (cardiomegaly), as well as damage to blood vessels in the kidneys and brain. It increases the risk of heart attacks, stroke and kidney disease.

Acupuncture has been found to be particularly helpful in lowering blood pressure. By applying acupuncture needles at specific sites along the wrist, inside the forearm or in the leg, researchers at the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, Irvine, were able to stimulate the release of opioids, which decreases the heart’s activity and thus its need for oxygen. This, in turn, lowers blood pressure.

2. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Obesity is associated with diabetes, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease–all of which increase the risk of developing heart disease–but studies have shown that excess body weight itself (and not just the associated medical conditions) can also lead to heart failure. Even if you are entirely healthy otherwise, being overweight still places you at a greater risk of developing heart failure.

Acupuncture and Oriental medicine are an excellent adjunctive tool when it comes to losing weight. They can help to energize the body, maximize the absorption of nutrients, regulate elimination, control overeating, suppress the appetite and reduce anxiety.

3. Reduce Stress
Stress is a normal part of life, but if left unmanaged, stress can lead to emotional, psychological and, even, physical problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, chest pains, or irregular heartbeats. Medical researchers aren’t exactly sure how stress increases the risk of heart disease. Stress itself might be a risk factor, or it could be that high levels of stress make other risk factors worse. For example, if you are under stress, your blood pressure goes up, you may overeat, you may exercise less, and you may be more likely to smoke.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the substantial benefits of acupuncture in the treatment of stress, anxiety and mental health. In addition to acupuncture, Oriental medicine offers a whole gamut of tools and techniques that can be integrated into your life to keep stress in check. These tools include Tui Na, Qi Gong exercises, herbal medicine, dietary therapy, meditations and acupressure that you can administer at home.

4. Improve Sleep Quality
Poor sleep has been linked with high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, heart failure, heart attacks, stroke, diabetes and obesity. Researchers have shown that getting at least eight hours of sleep is needed for good heart-health and getting less than eight hours of sleep can put you at a greater risk for developing heart disease.

Acupuncture has shown great success treating a wide array of sleep problems without any of the side effects of prescription or over-the-counter sleep aids. The acupuncture treatments for problems sleeping focus on the root disharmony within the body that is causing the insomnia. Therefore, those who use acupuncture for insomnia achieve not only better sleep, but also an overall improvement of physical and mental health.

5. If You Smoke, Quit
Most people associate cigarette smoking with breathing problems and lung cancer. But did you know that smoking is also a major cause of coronary artery disease? In fact, about 20 percent of all deaths from heart disease are directly related to cigarette smoking.

Acupuncture has shown to be an effective treatment for smoking. Acupuncture treatments for smoking cessation focus on jitters, cravings, irritability and restlessness–symptoms that people commonly complain about when they quit. It also aids in relaxation and detoxification.

How we can Help

Come in for a consultation to see how acupuncture and Oriental medicine can assist you with your heart health and help you to live a long, healthy life.

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Great article from the Buffalo News.
November 6 2014

You may not like the idea of being needled, but acupuncture has been a go-to therapy for 5,000 years. And this Chinese healing art, which uses hair-thin needles to stimulate points in the body that affect chi or qi, the life energy, has been in the news lately – not just because celebs like pop star Alicia Keys and bike racer Vincenzo Nibali (winner of the 2014 Tour de France) use it to stay energized, but because modern medicine is discovering more and more about the powers of acupuncture to heal the mind and body.

The World Health Organization says acupuncture may help ease digestive problems, including constipation and diarrhea; chronic sinus and lung infections; all sorts of pain, from headaches and migraines to neck pain, back pain and osteoarthritis; infertility; and even urinary and menstrual problems.

At the Cleveland Clinic, where Dr. Mike is Chief Wellness Officer and there are more than 10 certified acupuncture practitioners in the Wellness Institute’s Center for Integrative Medicine, a review of the best research found good evidence that it works to ease gastroesophageal reflux, nerve pain and post-surgery pain.

No wonder the number of North Americans being needled jumped from 2 million in 2002 to more than 14 million in 2007. And now at least four states include health-insurance coverage for acupuncture under the Affordable Care Act, with more states likely to follow.

So, if you’re one of the folks who likes the idea, and the treatments work for you, here are some recent insights into what acupuncture can do for you:

1. Relieve stress: Levels of neuropeptide Y – a combo of 36 amino acids that acts as a neurotransmitter and constricts blood vessels – skyrockets when you’re tense, triggering the fight-or-flight response. Acupuncture helps control levels of neuropeptide Y, lowering blood pressure and relaxing muscles.

2. Sooth pain: In a new University of California San Diego study, after 31 kids ages 2 to 17 had tonsillectomies, acupuncture muted their throat aches within minutes.

3. Cool a hot flash: A new review of 12 studies involving 869 menopausal women concludes that acupuncture reduces the number and intensity of this annoying menopause symptom.

4. Melt pounds: When 91 overweight people followed the same healthy diet and got real or sham ear acupuncture, those who got the real thing lost weight.

5. Promote energy for cancer patients: In two recent University of Pennsylvania studies, women receiving chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer reported reductions in tiredness, anxiety, depression and joint pain after receiving acupuncture.

We know that in some studies, sham acupuncture produces results almost as good – or as good – as the real thing. Perhaps the sham technique – pricking acupuncture points – works as well as inserting needles … or, in some cases, acupuncture works because people want it to. Future research will help sort that out.

What we know for sure? Here’s how to get the most out of this healing therapy:

• Talk with your doctor first: Don’t stop medications or other treatments on your own. Instead, ask your doctor about combining the two.

• Check your insurance: Some plans cover it; others may offer a discount if you use certain providers. If you have a health spending account, you’ll probably be able to use it for acupuncture, too.

• Find a certified practitioner: There are 27,835 acupuncturists in the U.S. who’ve been certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Find one at nccaom.org. Medical doctors with acupuncture training are listed by the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture on the Internet at medicalacupuncture.org. Ask if your practitioner is certified and state-licensed; it’s a requirement in 42 states and Washington, D.C.

• Know what to expect: Needles are thin, sharp and sterile – only disposable, prepackaged needles should be used. You may feel a twinge or nothing at all when they’re inserted. Depending on your health, you may need one to 10 treatments or visits that continue for several months. We hope you get the point!

Dr. Mehmet Oz is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Dr. Mike Roizen is chief wellness officer and chairman of the Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. Roizen is a Buffalo native and returned to the city on Tuesday to talk about seven steps toward better health.