Go Heart Yourself

During the month of February, people undoubtedly see hearts everywhere they go. Cupid pulls his trusty arrow out of his quiver, sets a lovestruck soul in his sights, draws back his arrow and "POW," a relationship is born. Of course, this is what we imagine, want, get sick of, etc. as it relates to Valentines Day. But what about our own hearts? I'm not talking about the proverbial heart of conscience, heart of emotion, or even Neil Young's Heart of Gold. I mean that thing on the left side of our chest that pumps oxygen-rich blood to all of our tissues (including itself) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, without exception. What about that heart, and how do you know yours is working okay. Here's a quick list of alternative non-invasive tests that can be performed by myself or your alternative health care practitioner to help evaluate the status of your heart and cardiovascular system:

1. Hip-waist ratio
   
2. Ankle-brachial index
3. Heart rate recovery time

Of course palpating and listening to the heart valves as well as a blood pressure test is still the gold standard for a physical exam, these tests can easily be complemented by the aforementioned tests before jumping into more time-consuming and costly diagnostic tests (stress test, EKG, echocardiogram, etc.)

If there is a blood test to be performed, levels of homocysteine and C-reactive protein are very good indicators of possible heart disease. Please let me know if there is any questions that you may have regarding these tests or interpreting tests that you have already had. Thank you.