Few words in the English language elicit more fear and sheer terror than “heart attack.”
We’ve been conditioned to fear these words in part because of the sheer prevalence of heart attacks in modern society.
It seems no one escapes this life without suffering this big scare.
But this raises an important question: Why?
Is this our destiny? Are we just made this way?
Why hasn’t 40 years of advice, prevention, drugs and surgeries stopped this terrible predator?
The surprising and sad reason is that…
Virtually everything we’ve been told about heart attacks and what to do to prevent them has been wrong.
Especially the exercise prescription that’s commonly known as “cardio.”
Here’s an example of confusing, misguided medical advice. I just read a new study in the journal Heart. It said that taking a nap once or twice a week can lower your risk of a heart attack.1
Of course, that contradicts previously published studies that found napping actually increases your chance of having a heart attack.2
Personally, I think you’re better off taking the 20 or 30 minutes you’d spend taking a nap doing something that will really benefit your heart… like working out.
But NOT the way traditional doctors and mainstream media tell you to. Because the modern approach to “exercise” is completely wrong.
The Harvard Health Professionals Follow-Up Study backs me up on this.
Researchers followed more than 7,000 people. They found that the key to protecting your heart isn’t endurance. It’s intensity. In fact, they proved that the more intense the exertion, the lower the risk of heart disease.3
Extended “cardio” exercise causes inflammation that damages your heart and makes it age faster.
Think of it this way…
If cardio were good for us, heart disease wouldn’t continue to be the No. 1 killer in the U.S.
I’ve been working on improving our very different approach to strengthening and bullet-proofing your heart.
My PACE (Progressively Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Exertion) program is specifically designed to strengthen your heart in just a few minutes a day. The same amount of time you could be napping.
Stay tuned for the details coming tomorrow.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
References
1. Häusler N, et al. “Association of napping with incident cardiovascular events in a prospective cohort study.” Heart.
2019 Sep 9.
2. Zonoozi S, et al. “Self-reported sleep duration and napping, cardiac risk factors and markers of sublinical vascular disease: Cross-sectional study in older men.” BMJ. 2017;7(6):e016396.
3. Lee IM, et al. “Relative intensity of physical activity and risk of coronary heart disease.” Circulation. 2003;107(8):1110-1116.