Page 54 - Summer 2017 Journal

a varied menu of neurotransmitters, and these help explain some of the effects of statin drugs, nitroglycerine and beta blockers. One of the neurotransmitters is acetylcholine. It turns out that statin drugs temporarily increase the pro- duction of acetylcholine in the parasympathetic nervous system, which may account for the small albeit toxic benefit of statin drugs. Nitrous oxide is another potent neurotransmitter of the parasympathetic nervous system. Nitroglycer- ine liberates nitrous oxide in the nerve endings. Beta blockers block the sympathetic nervous system and therefore inadvertently increase the parasympathetic nervous system. These major interventions—statins, nitroglycerine and beta blockers—all work by increasing the parasym- pathetic tone, which may explain their mildly beneficial effect with heart patients. None of these pharmaceuticals reduce plaque formation to any significant degree.
Diabetes, poor diet, smoking, high blood pressure and chronic stress—all the things that account for the majority of heart attacks—de- crease the tone in the parasympathetic nervous system. When a sympathetic nervous system stressor comes along—it could be emotional, physical or psychological stress, walking too far, doing too many push-ups or even holding your breath—it can exacerbate pre-existing parasympathetic nervous system imbalances. On the other hand, when human beings have economic security, meaningful work, attractive surroundings, peace on earth, good fats, low carbohydrates, no diabetes, communication, connection with the earth, sunlight, happy sex- ual encounters and the loving touch of another human being, all of these things help support a fully and optimally functioning parasympa- thetic nervous system. If you don’t have these sources of balance and you are faced with a sympathetic nervous system stressor, you’re in trouble. We are meant to have bears chasing us sometimes, but if our parasympathetic nervous system is functioning well, this stress won't cause a heart attack.
GLYCOLYTIC SHIFT
The heart and brain are the two organs with
the most mitochondria, using the most energy. Their preferred fuels are fats, particularly fatty
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acids. Under a situation of parasympathetic tone decrease and sympa- thetic tone insult, however, the metabolism shifts from using fats in the mitochondria to using glucose inside the cytoplasm. This mode of energy generation is called glycolysis, otherwise known as fermentation. When you start fermenting sugar for fuel, two things happen. First, it’s much less efficient. Second, you start building up lactic acid in the cells. Everyone knows that this happens because if you run farther than you can tolerate, you will build up lactic acid in the cells in your legs, and you will feel a cramp and pain because of the lactic acid build-up.
The same thing happens in your heart and brain, but there is one key difference compared with other organs such as the spleen or liver. Your brain and your heart can never rest, and they have huge energy needs, each using 40 percent of total body energy. Because they can’t stop, they keep on with glycolytic fermentation and build up lactic acid in the tissues, which promotes a progressive acidification. By everybody’s estimation, this acidification is the final common pathway for necrosis—breakdown or death—of those cells. The pain that we call angina comes first, followed by full-blown destruction of the tissue, called a heart attack.
I said the heart is not a pump, but I didn’t say it wasn’t a muscle. When there is acidification in the tissue, calcium will be unable to get into the muscle to cause it to contract. When the muscle is unable to contract, you will have an area of your heart that doesn’t move. That is the hallmark of heart disease. Once you have an area that is not moving like it should, the blood vessel embedded in that area is under tremendous pressure. If you subject the artery to sheer pressure, you are going to start throwing little pieces of clots off from that artery, even if the artery isn’t particularly blocked in the first place. The longer you are in that situa- tion, the more clots will happen. Again, the clots are a consequence of the pressure but not the cause. If you ask cardiologists about this, they have no explanation or ability to predict why this happens, even though it is clear that if you subject the artery to sheer pressure, you’re going to start throwing pieces off. In the rare situation where a stent or bypass helps after a heart attack, it is probably because they have cleared out debris that was a consequence, not the cause.
FROM EXPLANATION TO THERAPY
A number of factors are involved in heart disease. Although it is
important to get away from simplistic thinking about causation, it is crucial to pay attention to the collateral circulation. If you have poor collateral circulation, that’s not good. I’m not saying that having plaque in your arteries is a great thing either, but the main issue is the build-up of lactic acid and the decrease of the parasympathetic tone. That is the central pathophysiology.
Obviously, understanding the role of the parasympathetic nervous system has major implications for the selection of appropriate therapies. The Africa explorer David Livingstone first identified a plant called Strophanthus that is native to Madagascar and a few other places. The native Africans dipped their arrows in heavy doses of Strophanthus seed extract. Livingstone happened to dip his toothbrush in it, and when he brushed his teeth, his heart rate increased. In Germany for about three
Wise Traditions SUMMER 2017