Heart and circulation condition each other in a very close, inseparable union.
A healthy, dynamically balanced heart tells of good blood circulation, as well as good circulation, both from the point of view of blood and lymphatic flow, is the basis of the health of this very important organ. If then the heart is fed, in its muscular structures, by unobstructed, elastic coronaries, in which clean blood flows, then it will perform its function to its fullest potential.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the heart is not only the “pump of the blood”, but in it the deep feelings of our soul are kept. It is a kind of “Emotional memory” of all those sensations and emotions of man. It is the seat of happiness, joy and wisdom. According to these ancient philosophies, all the pathologies of the cardiovascular system are linked to an insufficient “circulation of love and joy” in our existence. Violent emotions and strong tensions have a negative effect on its good functioning: think that even excessive joy can disturb it and cause it to become unbalanced.
Having a peaceful heart is not just a saying, but it is the expression of the right balance that the person must achieve. It is also considered the “Receptacle of strength and courage”: even in many ancient rituals the heart of the condemned, especially if of a warrior, was devoured only to be able to take possession of his courage and his strength! In short, the heart is a very sensitive organ to everything related to our psycho-emotional sphere.
Stress, tension, pain, resentment and fear make him ill and when he decays, the first to suffer is our pressure. In fact, blood pressure decompensation afflicts a large portion of the population even at a not so mature age.
Both hypertension and hypotension are two pathological conditions that must not be underestimated and must be addressed with a multidisciplinary approach, being, in general, pathological decompensations with a multifactorial etiology. The fact is that it is not always possible to recognize the precise and unique cause of the blood pressure abnormality. For this reason, very often we are diagnosed with “essential arterial hypertension”, the cause of which cannot be defined with certainty.
It is certain that stress is playing an increasingly decisive role: when problems begin to overload our days and family tensions take away our serenity or work commitments become exhausting, our heart makes us understand this by decompensating on the pressure side.
So how can we help him in his delicate task as a great regulator of the cardiovascular system, but also of the body? Surely with a balanced lifestyle: good habits that we can learn to follow to avoid degenerations that almost always involve drastic and very invasive interventions.
So are important: a balanced and nutritious diet; adequate physical activity; healthy emotional management; a good awareness of one’s state of health. Nature also comes to our aid, providing us with a whole series of plants, active ingredients and foods that work for the health of our heart.
A great ally of blood pressure is mistletoe an excellent normotensive, that is, it has a good regulation of both hypertension and hypotension.
Then in periods of greater psychophysical stress, a mistletoe tea could be a good remedy. A trick: drink it in small sips, held for a few seconds in the mouth, before being swallowed and between meals. Another “heart-friendly” natural remedy is hawthorn. In herbal medicine, you can find it in pearls, tablets or capsules, which you can take following the instructions of your trusted naturopath. It is also possible to find it in a hydroalcoholic solution, or in the form of a simple herbal tea. Primrose, on the other hand, is an excellent tonic for the heart, capable of strengthening its muscle structure. One or two cups a day are enough and if you drink it in the evening, it is an effective natural remedy for insomnia.
You can sweeten herbal teas with honey: a great “friend” of our heart.
Adding honey to yarrow, violet, primrose and woodruff teas should only be done when they are no longer hot, to maintain the therapeutic virtues of this important nutrient unaltered. Blood pressure regulation is a neurovegetative function, so it may be a good choice to act simultaneously on the autonomic nervous system and on the endocrine system, the one that produces hormones.
Sage is an excellent tonic of the autonomic system and an excellent regulator of endocrine function. So use it in the kitchen in your dishes! As I have already pointed out, there are always nervous factors behind mild or deeper pressure imbalances. So, during the day, whenever possible, take micro breaks and give yourself a few minutes to do some neuro-relaxing exercises.
Micro pauses are particular moments in which we consciously stop what we are doing and divert attention to muscle relaxation, breathing and a positive image or memory. While seated we place a hand on the abdomen and inhale with the belly and, while exhaling very slowly, we relax the muscles starting from the bottom: feet, legs, abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms, neck and face, repeating the phrase: “Every part of my body is relaxing ”. Or let’s focus on a pleasant memory and accompany the thought with a smile. Smiling, we relax the facial muscles; our eyes take on a friendly and confident expression and we lower the defensive barriers and therefore the tension. Micro breaks can also include getting up and getting some fresh air or drinking a sip of water.
In short, sometimes a few seconds are really enough to lower our state of tension and hyper vigilance, thus also reducing our allostatic load. It is essential for the health of our heart that our blood is as clean as possible, well oxygenated, not overloaded with LDL cholesterol and triglycerides: this should be the blood of the coronary arteries, which incessantly feed our heart muscle.
A “conditio sine qua non” to have a suitably purified blood is its good oxygenation, primarily by breathing clean air in an unpolluted atmosphere. So go ahead for short or long walks in a natural environment, gymnastics at home or in a park. The quality of the air we breathe and the way we breathe it greatly affect hemodynamics. The hypertensive person should learn deep breathing and perform breathing exercises at least three times a day (each time for 10 minutes), inhaling through the nose and exhaling with an open mouth. Each breath must be slow and deep, introducing as much air as possible into the lungs and exhaling as much as possible.
The oxygen in the air, captured by the lungs, is transported by the hemoglobin of the red blood cells to the brain nerve centers that centrally control blood pressure, which will slowly tend to normalize. This breathing technique is valid both for hypertensive and for hypotheses, and obviously for normotensive ones. In short, breathing clean air and performing adequate physical activity guarantees us a better oxygenated blood, but nutrition is also important in order not to pollute the organism and consequently the blood, in fact with the right nutrients we can stimulate the detoxifying action of our excretory organs and hepatoprotective action.
All natural and fresh food contains, to varying degrees, active ingredients that affect blood circulation, in the sense that they lead to a balanced hemodynamics. Medicinal plants are also useful for the heart because they channel organic fluids, exerting an activity of removing stagnant ones, promoting the purification of the extracellular fluid, in which all the cells of our body float, or as single units, or as more or less large, cellular archipelagos. In conclusion, we learn to take care of this central organ of our health, because it does not always warn us in advance of its profound decompensation and as a writer very dear to me said:
“If a plate or a glass falls to the ground you hear a thunderous noise … the same if a table leg breaks or if a painting comes off the wall. But the heart, when it breaks, does so in absolute silence. Given its importance, you’d think it makes one of the loudest noises in the world, or even produces some sort of ceremonious sound, like the echo of a harpsichord or the tolling of a bell. Instead it is silent and you come to want a sound that completely distracts you from the pain ”.
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