Relatively recently, chronic infection has been found to be a contributing factor to heart disease. Furthermore, bacterial cells have been found "living" in the plaques that accumulate in the arteries in heart disease.

What causes a Heart Attack?

When an arterial plaque in a coronary artery ruptures and a bit of it breaks away, it gets stuck in the artery and blocks the blood flow to the part of the heart tissue "fed" by that artery. This blockage causes the heart tissue to be deprived of blood flow, leading to a heart attack.

So what happens when you are stressed?

It is a well known phenomenon that stress can trigger a heart attack. But what actually happens during stress to trigger the rupturing of the plaque and hence a heart attack? Well believe it or not, bacteria are thought to involved.

Stress causes 'Break Out'

The resident bacteria living in arterial plaques are believed to be able to sense the stress that you are experiencing yourself. If the level of stress is intense enough and prolonged enough, these bacterial colonies perceive that their once stable habitation is now a hostile environment detrimental to their chances of survival. So they begin to abandon their once comfortable home in your arterial plaque and go looking for a new place of residence. They literally "break out" of their home and in doing so they cause the plaque to rupture, causing a heart attack. So could it follow that part of a good cardiovascular disease strategy should include a strategy to add stability and elasticity to those arterial plaques? For more information about this important area of health and about the rapidly occurring new insights into cardiovascular health, speak to Peter Radi in the Mr Vitamins store and consult with him in clinic.

Peter Radi – Naturopath and Nutritionist

Peter Radi is a naturopath, nutritionist and herbalist and has been in clinical practice since 2000. He is available for private consultations at the Mr Vitamins Clinic where he can provide you with more information to help you with your Diet (eating plan) for Heart Health as well as personalised health improvement programs. Learn more about Peter here