How to Save the Life of a Heart Attack Victim.

" Heart disease takes more life than any other illness across the planet. In 2009 in the USA, 599,413 died of heart related problems. Far too frequently the cause of death was a myocardial infarction, or heart attack. Looking at the WHO figures for Thailand for 2011, the death statistics are probably worse. There were 53328 deaths from this cause. Statistically this figure comprised 10.30% of total fatalities. However, strokes proved to be the number one killer with 73429 or 14.18% of total deaths. We glimpse then that heart disease and related strokes were responsible for almost a quarter of all passings in Thailand in 2011.

Conventional medicine attributes heart disease to lifestyle and bad nutrition. Factors responsible are reputed to be lack of exercise, high cholesterol and a diet rich in Trans fats and sugars. Yes, these are contributory factors but are the real cause? The answer is a resounding “No” from Dr. Gert Hamer.

Dr Hamer’s life diametrically changed direction in 1978. Up to then he had worked for over 15 years as an internist in University Hospital Clinics. For 5 of these years he had held the position of professor. Here was an experienced medical doctor. He was no flake hovering on the outside of the profession.   In 1978 his son, Dirk, was shot dead on a boat anchored off Corsica. This heart wrenching shock was ,understandably, to alter the course of Gert Hamer’s life forever. Shortly afterwards, he developed testicular cancer; he wondered if there was a link.

He overcame his illness and went on to work at “The Oncology-Gynecology Clinic” at Munich University Hospital; three years later thanks to his female patients, he was able to answer his own question. He discovered the ladies with cancer, like himself had all experienced a terrible shock shortly before developing their disease. It was from this conclusion in 1981, that “Germanic New Medicine” was born.

Conventional medicine will tell you that an actual heart attack is caused by the buildup of arterial plaque. This is connected to high blood cholesterol levels; the heart attack itself is caused by a piece of this plaque coming loose and blocking the coronary artery. Again, Dr. Hamer’s findings disagree. His theory is that heart attacks occur due to a conflict shock that involve what he calls “territorial loss”. This could be the loss of a partner, a business loss, a job loss, the loss of a car, a money loss or even the loss of a testicle! Heart disease often strikes when a successful businessman retires, replaced by younger and fitter rivals.  Ken Lay fought hard for Enron as its CEO; he died of a massive heart attack in 2006 whilst awaiting sentencing at the end of the Enron trial. This classic example gives a good example of territorial loss conflict. In an interview shortly before his death, Lay called Enron his child and compared the loss of the company to the death of a child.

Dr. Hamer’s view lies not in the realms of psychology, instead he urged everyone to think “animal”. He feels we are still very close to the packs and herds of our early ancestors. A stag forced out of the herd by a young buck, has to fight to retake his position or possibly die. To prepare for the fight, the stag needs more energy. To acquire this, the coronary artery enlarges, so more blood can enter the myocardium. Once the conflict is resolved, he no longer needs this turbo-charge. He has won the contest, everything returns to normal and the body can repair itself. The artery begins to reduce in size; the gaps are filled by cholesterol. He is in the healing phase.  Dependant on the time the conflict has lasted (it could be a mere matter of weeks) the system enters a healing crisis. It does this by expelling water in the form of a local edema. This is the heart attack. At the same time, the coronary artery brain relay, located directly above the right ear acts as controller of the event. If you witness such a crisis, quickly take a bag of ice and place it on the spot. This stops the arrhythmia and fast thinking like that can potentially save a life by halting the attack itself. 

Remember, if you are present when somebody has a heart attack; place an ice bag directly above the right ear.If you should experience a “territorial loss” it can help alleviate the symptoms if you go and see a therapist who is able to help you potentially digest and reduce the shock. Health Ambit Consultancy can help you in this matter. This intervention can potentially turn a fatal heart attack into a survivable event."

This article appeared in the Samui Gazette of April 27th 2012

Magnesium, Nature’s Natural Stress Buster.

Stress is the number one cause of illness the world over. But what is stress? We all need some to get out of bed in the morning and embrace the process of living! That sort of stress is probably of the positive variety. It’s negative pressure that causes problems. It comes in various forms. Not eating, not drinking sufficient water and exposure to extremes of heat and cold all constitute physical stress. Without doubt, many people are affected by these stressors. However, it’s emotional stress that probably does the most harm.

What then is emotional stress? I would like to describe it as resistance; pushing against the current or fighting what is. Austro-Hungarian born researcher Hans Selye working from McGill University in Canada and then the “Universite de Montréal “was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1949 for the work he did on “General Adaptation Syndrome”. He called negative stress “distress” and positive stress, "eustress". It was Langley who first coined the term “Autonomic Nervous System” in 1903, and was the earliest proponent of flight and fight. When exposed to “distress” the sympathetic nervous system prepares the body to either get angry and resist or nervously run away. To do this successfully, some changes take place, triggered by the hormone adrenaline. These, increase blood pressure; divert blood flow to deeper muscle, improve eyesight amongst myriad other changes which better prepare individuals to cope. When the danger has passed, there is a switch to the parasympathetic state; this allows the body to rest and recuperate. The ANS was designed to help humans, when wild animals roamed the forests and early man was continually faced with life threatening crises.

Today, the crises are of a different sort. In the past, when confronted by a fierce saber tooth tiger, you could run away or fight it and get the meat back to the cave to feed the family. Now, saber toothed tigers are extinct and threats are generally less hostile. However, when confronted by an irate bank manager, which is not a life threatening situation, we regress and treat it as if it were! Adrenaline is switched on and the body goes through the same changes as if it were fighting for survival. Besides in the past, the threats were less frequent, having returned to homeostasis, several weeks could pass before the next dangerous situation emerged. This gave the system ample time to rid itself of the toxins that prompted the original stimulus response. Today, the situation is vastly different. Many people can be confronted by perceived threats several times per day. There is no time to relax and recover. It is little wonder that chronic ill health is on the rampage.

Nature has an extraordinary “destressor”. It is the mineral Magnesium. This alkaline metal plays a vital role in the production of ATP (Adenosine-5-triphosphate). This has been described as the dynamo, producing body energy. It works with Calcium to maintain the free flow of energy to the cells. To achieve this Magnesium keeps its opponent, Calcium in balance. When Calcium is overabundant there is a scary prospect of tics and muscular cramps occurring. These can cause heart conditions like angina and high blood pressure .Both increase the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke. Today, Calcium gets all the publicity; there is negligible talk about Magnesium lack, but it exists in, perhaps, the majority of people. Gall bladder removal is a common intervention, but in my opinion gall stones don’t form if Magnesium levels are sufficient.

This alkaline mineral soothes the body, calming the nerves whilst promoting sound sleep. This is the natural way of being. Stress is an emergency situation that should occur infrequently. Magnesium combats over acidity, which is the pH level where illness occurs. The substance now occurs less often in soils depleted by the over use of NPK artificial fertilizers, which like Calcium are antagonistic to Magnesium. The deficiency was noted by the US Senate as long ago as 1936, yet, nothing has been done to alleviate the problem!

It would be a good idea for everybody to increase Magnesium in the diet. The understated RDA for Men is 400 and Women 310 mg per day. If encountering stress this could easily be increased significantly. 1000 mg would not be too much. Spinach, black beans, halibut and pumpkin seeds provide good sources, but you have to eat a lot to get anywhere near the recommended daily dose. If in doubt it is a good idea to buy a good quality nutritional supplement and take a high daily dose for three months to overcome any deficiency. As in all cases going to see a health care practitioner like Health Ambit Consultancy will help you find the solution best suited for your individual needs.
This article first appeared in the Samui Gazette of April 4th 2012