When it comes to heart health, there’s bad news and there’s good news. The bad news? Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States taking the lives of about 1,600 people a day.
According to the Center for Disease Control, around 400 people lose their lives every day due to stroke. So, in regards to your heart health, the good news is that there are many things you can do to prevent heart-related issues and heart disease.
Chiropractic and Heart Rate Variability
Chiropractic treatment has been shown to be an effective preventive measure against heart disease. One of the factors used to determine heart health is heart rate variability or HRV. HRV is defined as “a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat” and is often used to help medical professionals identify whether there are imbalances in the body’s autonomic nervous system. According to research, chiropractic care has a positive effect on this measure.
Chiropractic Care for Total Wellness
Studies have shown that chiropractic care can be effective for combating heart issues, but also creating overall wellness across the body.
Chiropractic Care and Stroke?
Although studies have shown a positive correlation between chiropractic care and heart health, does engage in this type of treatment put you at risk for stroke?
According to a 2008 study in the journal Spine, after studying 818 patients hospitalized for vertebrobasilar artery (VBA) stroke, for those over the age of 45, they were three times more likely to have either treated with a chiropractor or primary care physician prior to their stroke occurring.
With that said, researchers also indicated that they “found no evidence of excess risk of VBA stroke associated chiropractic care compared to primary care.” Additionally, any association that may potentially exist between care and stroke could be because headache and neck pain typically appear before a VBA stroke occurs, thus causing the patient to seek treatment, which may explain why a correlation exists. Other studies more recently published have stated that spinal manipulation is an unlikely cause of a stroke.
Take Care of Your Heart; Call Us Today
The goal of our Atlanta chiropractors is to provide education and prevention methods to help keep our patients as healthy as possible. Chiropractic regimes when practiced regularly will help to minimize your risks of life-threatening diseases as well as allowing you to feel your best. Contact us today at (404) 889-8828.
