ANXIETY AND

Anxiety and Your Heart

I developed a “hot spot” slit on the bottom of my left fourth toe. It was a minor injury in triathlon history, but it was enough to bench me. Experiencing this so close to race day stressed me out to the point that my sleep became restless, I was anxious and irritable, and I suffered heart palpitations.

I knew those symptoms were related to my cardiovascular health, and there are four main tools used to evaluate the heart. The first three are the stethoscope, an electrocardiograph (EKG), an echocardiograph. Based on electrical diagnosis, an EKG will show if a heart attack has occurred. An echo will indicate how effectively the muscles are contracting and the valves are working, as well as if there is any fluid buildup on the heart. In other words, these methods will reveal if the heart is in a diseased state.

Then there is the endocardiograph, also known as the Heart Sound Recorder (HSR). In 1937, Dr. Royal Lee invented and patented a device that could record sounds that were previously only heard through a stethoscope. This graph is called an endocardiograph, or HSR, and it looks at the heart as the window to one’s overall health.

Heart sounds produce a vibration on the chest wall, and with the help of modern technology, are recorded in a similar way that a seismograph detects and depicts the intensity and duration of movements in the ground for earthquakes. The machine uses an accelerometer to sense these vibrations and provides a detailed recording of

by Dr. Cynthia Clark

Two weeks before my Ironman race,

the heart sounds. According to Dr. Lee,

“The heart is the most reflective muscle of nutrition or malnutrition… something this country has a hard time accepting.”

“The heart is the most reflective muscle of nutrition or malnutrition…something this country has a hard time accepting.”

Here’s the reason: When we eat, food travels down the esophagus and into the stomach, then drops into a vat of hydrochloric acid. At this point, food is converted into nutrients which flow into the small intestine. Finally, those nutrients leech out through the intestines into the bloodstream. The veins then circulate nutrients back to the heart.

This is what is meant by the phrase, “The heart feeds first.” The heart then feeds the rest of the body its nutrients via the arteries and capillaries. So if the digestive system is weak and the stomach acid is low, a smaller percentage of food will be converted into nutrients.

Certain medications can lower the amount of stomach acid too. In July 2019, a study entitled “Cardiovascular Risk of Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI)” reported that a meta-analysis of 107,423 patients indicated the use of a PPI such as Prilosec for longer than one month indicates a 30% increase in cardiovascular events. So if you have been on a Proton Pump Inhibitor for longer than one month, you could be at risk for a cardiovascular event.

Your gut microbiome affects so many aspects of health—the digestive system is the creation point for hormones which are the precursor for your brain’s neurotransmitters. As we already discussed, it’s also the gate to the quality of blood that flows to the heart. The strength of the endocardiograph is that it reflects nutritional success by drawing attention to any changes in the heart within 30 minutes of taking the prescribed substance.

This is why it’s important to undergo a whole-health evaluation which should include an endocardiograph to evaluate your nutritional deficiencies. There’s no need to be scared of this: what you can see, you can then work to change. But if you don’t know it’s there, this becomes a blind spot that can ambush you in the future.

So what resulted when I performed an endocardiograph for myself? Within 30 minutes, I knew which supplements to take to both settle and strengthen my heart. I then was able to include myself on the list of hundreds of cardiovascular health success stories here at Longevity Wellness. Not to mention, I safely and successfully completed the Ironman Florida race—with a healthy and strong heart indeed!

Dr. Cynthia Clark is a board-certified Acupuncture Physician, Applied Clinical Nutritionist, Creator of Energy Evolution and founder of Longevity Wellness. Her healing mission is “Medicine with Integrity,” where all the healing at her clinic is achieved through nutrients which bring the body back in line. Her goal for all clients is “Health Freedom,” where you are able to live the life that you desire.