How Conventional Medicine is Failing in Cardiovascular Care

Heart disease is the number one killer in both men and women.

With all the advances we’ve had in science, research, and treatments, we have not been able to downgrade it as the top cause of global mortality for decades. In fact, it is projected to increase by 30% by 2035.

In this series on cardiovascular care, I’ve been exploring how conventional medicine is lacking in its approach to it.

Besides revealing startling statistics regarding the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women, I also discussed how many heart symptoms and signs are often overlooked in this gender. Additionally, I highlighted traditional risk factors and how some of the most influential ones are barely heeded. Heck, I even dove into the controversies surrounding cholesterol levels and statins.

Lastly, and most importantly, I discussed the major reasons I feel modern medicine is failing to optimize the health of our hearts.

1. It is solely focusing on physiological or surgical manipulation of the downstream symptoms and lab markers and not the causes.
2. It is not considering the mind-body-heart connection in its treatment plans.

In this post and video, I expand on these concepts. Topics include:

• The importance of integrating social connections in conventional medical care.
• How using mind-body medicine, in the form of essential oils, can support one’s relationship with themselves and others.
• My new membership community aimed to foster mind-body-heart health and relationship connections!

Let’s get started.

The Mind-Body-Heart Link

Although drugs, supplements, and lifestyle interventions are the main focuses for promoting heart health in medicine, relationships, socioeconomics, and emotions are as essential.

Perceived loneliness and isolation are substantial risk factors associated with cardiovascular mortality. Additionally, lack of social support has been found to correlate with high inflammation. This causes more strain on all aspects of the body, not just the heart. Furthermore, these underappreciated aspects are also linked to mental health issues, such as  depression and anxiety. These disorders increase and compound one’s risk for heart disease and compromise recovery.

On a positive note, healthy relationships decrease the risk of one suffering from a repeated heart attack and buffer negative strains on the heart.

Therefore, one can’t fully optimize the heart with a drug, supplement, or lifestyle intervention that only addresses misaligned biochemistry. We must also consider psychology and social determinants of health.

The neurobiological and mind-body aspects of love and connection are powerful “medicines” that are needed to heal hearts around the world.

They boost all other things that effect physical cardiovascular function and overall wellness.

An Integrated Approach to Healing Hearts

Along with addressing the traditional risk factors of heart disease, expanding awareness on its overlooked symptoms, and integrating holistic treatments for all the mediators of it, we also need to find ways to enhance the benefits of social connection into healthcare.

In regards to mobilizing the health sector, all providers must prioritize the crucial impact of healthy, unhealthy, and absent relationships on wellness. This includes discussing and assessing social support with every client and patient. It also encompasses accessing or having available referrals to community resources, programs, and groups that enhance human connections.

Another means to revitalize cardiovascular health includes recognizing the efficacy and wellness benefits of supporting the mind-heart-body connection on CVD outcomes and relationships. Mind-body practices have been found to decrease inflammation and stress, which can positively impact cardiovascular health. These modalities also enhance self-awareness and self-acceptance which can modulate a feeling of belonging. This can help to alleviate some of the detrimental impacts of isolation and feeling disconnected.

Health and wellness providers could be utilizing and incorporating mind-heart-body applications at every doctor visit as an avenue to favorably alter one’s risk for a negative cardiovascular event. After all, there are so many interwoven factors within social isolation and loneliness that are associated with detrimental outcomes in heart disease. Mitigating even a little of the strain by promoting self-awareness, relieving stress, and decreasing inflammation, could make a large difference.

Essential Oils for the Heart

Essential oils are easily accessible and can be used to promote emotional resiliency, stress relief, and hormonal balance for better intimacy skills and healthier hearts.

My database has a whole category on essential oils for heart health. It contains many articles on this topic that are listed below:

• Cholesterol & Essential Oils
• The Heart as More Than a Pump
• HeartMath Institute & Essential Oils
• Five Essential Oils and Blends for Holistic Heart Health & Cardiovascular Support
• Mind-Body-Heart Medicine: How Essential Oils Holistically Support Integrative Cardiovascular Health
• Olfaction Mood Enhancement for Gratitude, Hope, and Stress Relief During the Holiday Season… with Essential Oils and Heart-Brain Congruency
• Four of My Favorite Essential Oils for Mind-Body-Heart Health

You can access all these articles and my full database for free for the next few days.

After this, the links to the database will be private and available exclusively to subscribers in my new community membership program.

Why Offer the Community Membership?

Although there is no replacement for face-to-face connection, we can leverage technology in a positive way to promote healthy relationships, decrease feelings of isolation, and enhance mind-body-heart health.

Being part of my community will ensure you will receive continual and exclusive updated information and research, access to exclusive community discussions, a full essential oils course curriculum, and more!

Those who subscribe to my community now will also receive bonus resources and videos available for a limited time.

You can learn more about this program and the opportunity to be a community member here.

For almost 20 years, it has been a privilege to write and post weekly health and wellness blogs for free to all my newsletter subscribers.

In becoming a member, you will provide additional support to this website so I can continue to offer education through my writing at no cost to those who may not have the financial ability to invest in working with me.

I appreciate the blessing to be able to have so many amazing subscribers and look forward to a more personalized relationship with my members.

Can’t wait to meet you!

Summary: The Heart-Brain-Body Link and Essential Oils

• We must foster social connections to truly heal hearts globally. They are as essential for cardiovascular care as lifestyle, supplements, and drugs.
• Using mind-body approaches, such as essential oils, can help enhance emotional and physical wellness which can promote healthier relationships.
• Being part of my wellness community is one way to help you connect to other like-minded individuals with the common goal of optimizing mind-body-heart health using essential oils and other holistic approaches.

Naturopathic Medicine and Holistic Resources for Hormonal, Mood, and Digestive Support

• Free resources and more education on essential oils and mind-body wellness are available to you here.
• An Integrative Mental Health and Stress Resource Guide.
• Tools for coping with isolation and separation.

Stay Connected! Sign-up for my weekly newsletter.

Stay tuned for an upcoming opportunity that can support you in holistic mind-body-heart-soul healing. (Join my newsletter to learn more.)

Many blessings.

References:

1. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7218a3.htm
2. https://www.heart.org/en/get-involved/advocate/federal-priorities/cardiovascular-disease-burden-report
3. https://www.heart.org/-/media/Files/Get-Involved/Advocacy/Burden-Report-Technical-Report.pdf
4. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/08/04/social-isolation-loneliness-can-damage-heart-and-brain-health-report-says
5. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/social-isolation-linked-to-increased-inflammation#Further-work
6. https://consumer.healthday.com/aha-news-why-a-cardiac-crisis-can-also-be-a-mental-health-issue-2660539505.html
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15990719/
8. https://hbr.org/2022/08/a-sense-of-belonging-starts-with-self-acceptance
9. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/striving-thriving/202201/how-accept-your-mind-body-and-behavior
10. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.122.026493#d1e1004