I am building new arteries inside my body right now.
Not with surgery. Not with drugs. With exercise.
Your body has a backup system most doctors never tell you about. It is called collateral circulation. When a coronary artery narrows, your body can grow entirely new blood vessels to route blood around the blockage.
Natural bypasses. Built by your own biology. Triggered by movement.
Not with surgery. Not with drugs. With exercise.
Your body has a backup system most doctors never tell you about. It is called collateral circulation. When a coronary artery narrows, your body can grow entirely new blood vessels to route blood around the blockage.
Natural bypasses. Built by your own biology. Triggered by movement.
The EXCITE trial. 60 patients with significant coronary artery disease. Randomized. Published in Circulation, 2016.
One group did high-intensity exercise. One group did moderate-intensity exercise. One group was the control.
After just 4 weeks, both exercise groups showed significant improvement in their coronary collateral flow index. The control group did not.
Four weeks. Not four years. Four weeks of consistent exercise and the body started building new pathways around the blockage.
The Cleveland Clinic describes collateral circulation as your body's natural mechanism to provide blood flow to ischemic tissue. Your body senses reduced flow. It calls other blood vessels into action. Exercise accelerates the process.
One group did high-intensity exercise. One group did moderate-intensity exercise. One group was the control.
After just 4 weeks, both exercise groups showed significant improvement in their coronary collateral flow index. The control group did not.
Four weeks. Not four years. Four weeks of consistent exercise and the body started building new pathways around the blockage.
The Cleveland Clinic describes collateral circulation as your body's natural mechanism to provide blood flow to ischemic tissue. Your body senses reduced flow. It calls other blood vessels into action. Exercise accelerates the process.
This is what I think about every single day.
My calcium score is over 1,000. I have old plaque in my arteries. That is the past. I cannot undo it.
But every time I walk. Every time I exercise. Every time I push my heart rate up, my body is responding. Building collateral pathways. Strengthening existing vessels. Creating redundancy in the system.
I am not just maintaining my heart. I am upgrading it. Building a network of backup routes that did not exist 6 years ago.
This is what playing offense looks like. Not waiting for the next scan. Building the architecture that makes the scan less relevant.
My calcium score is over 1,000. I have old plaque in my arteries. That is the past. I cannot undo it.
But every time I walk. Every time I exercise. Every time I push my heart rate up, my body is responding. Building collateral pathways. Strengthening existing vessels. Creating redundancy in the system.
I am not just maintaining my heart. I am upgrading it. Building a network of backup routes that did not exist 6 years ago.
This is what playing offense looks like. Not waiting for the next scan. Building the architecture that makes the scan less relevant.
William Heberden first documented this in the 1700s. A patient with severe angina did daily physical activity for six months. His symptoms nearly disappeared.
300 years later the EXCITE trial proved what Heberden observed. Exercise builds coronary collateral circulation. Your body can grow its way around a blockage.
Your doctor may have told you that heart disease only gets worse. That the plaque only grows. That the best you can hope for is management.
That is not what the science says.
The science says your body is capable of building its own solution. You just have to give it the signal.
Move. Every day. Your arteries are listening.
The truth heals
Founder, HealthTruth
Co-founders:
Dr. Philip Ovadia, MD @ifixhearts
Dr. Aseem Malhotra, MD @DrAseemMalhotra
Dr. Robert Cywes, MD, PhD @carbaddictiondr
Prof. Tim Noakes @ProfTimNoakes
300 years later the EXCITE trial proved what Heberden observed. Exercise builds coronary collateral circulation. Your body can grow its way around a blockage.
Your doctor may have told you that heart disease only gets worse. That the plaque only grows. That the best you can hope for is management.
That is not what the science says.
The science says your body is capable of building its own solution. You just have to give it the signal.
Move. Every day. Your arteries are listening.
The truth heals
Founder, HealthTruth
Co-founders:
Dr. Philip Ovadia, MD @ifixhearts
Dr. Aseem Malhotra, MD @DrAseemMalhotra
Dr. Robert Cywes, MD, PhD @carbaddictiondr
Prof. Tim Noakes @ProfTimNoakes
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