Transcript Of Today's Episode
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Dr. Martin: Well, good morning everyone, welcome again to a little teaching on, this morning we're going to talk about atrial fibrillation, AFib. People have asked me [00:00:30] just to talk about that... And let me just say this first of all, that AFib is now another, it seems to me that it's like an epidemic today. That there's so many people that have Afib, and there's a reason for it. Again, we live in a different world than before, and one of the things that we find with atrial fib is what causes [00:01:00] atrial fib? What are the things that cause, what is AFib, let's just talk about what AFib is. First of all in the upper chambers of the heart, it's electrical, and there's electrical impulse imbalances there. And it's like when you have a loose bulb or whatever, it's off and on, and it can be very dangerous because people with atrial fibrillation are much more susceptible to have a stroke [00:01:30] because of the electrical current in the heart when it's thrown off.
Dr. Martin: But what throws it off? That's the key is finding out what throws off the heart rhythm, and we're going to discuss that this morning. A couple of things I want you to consider. One, the number one thing in atrial fib, the number one cause is high stress. People who are under high stress, and especially [00:02:00] people who do not sleep. Now we live in an epidemic today of people that just don't get sleep. It's estimated that 70% of the population don't get a good night's sleep, and that makes you much more susceptible, it attacks the electrical circuit within the heart. Now you know that a lack of sleep does a lot of things. Your brain doesn't [00:02:30] detoxify like it should if you don't sleep, and there's other things of course, cortisol levels go up, belly fat, obesity, brain fog, all these things are... Not getting a good night's sleep is very detrimental. It increases your cancer rate because you're not detoxing properly. Your immune system doesn't work properly.
Dr. Martin: But the thing that we're talking about this morning is the heart, [00:03:00] and the heart gets affected by a lack of sleep. People that don't sleep properly, that have high levels of cortisol, are much more susceptible to get atrial fibrillation. Now, secondly, one of the things that causes it is, in women and it's far more common in women than it is in men, and the reason is, is because of estrogen. Estrogen dominance or hormonal imbalance can [00:03:30] cause an effect on the circuitry within the heart. And so hormone balance is very, very, very important. So ladies, if you have too much estrogen, that can be a factor in atrial fibrillation.
Dr. Martin: Here's another big, big factor, dehydration. Do you know that most people are dehydrated? They don't drink enough water, and it's amazing what [00:04:00] water does. And only H2O is H2O, nothing else is water. But a lot of people, they just, "Ah Doc, I'm not thirsty." But people need at least two liters of water a day. Just generally, just during the night you'll lose a liter of water just sleeping, and people don't replace that, and then they start drinking coffee and whatever. Coffee is good, I love coffee, that's not the issue. The issue is you need water.
Dr. Martin: This morning, I get up seven days [00:04:30] a week, all I feel like having is a coffee, but I have my water first. So half a liter of water for my American friends, 16 ounces of water, four of those a day, 64 ounces of water or two liters of water every day. And only water is water, because your heart, the circuitry needs water. Think of Niagara Falls, [00:05:00] it needs, you want to generate the electricity, you have Niagara Falls, water flowing over there. The power of the water. Guys, you need to be properly hydrated. It's very, very, very important.
Dr. Martin: Here's another one, people that are on medications, so if you're taking over the counter anti-histamines, okay? So a lot of people take an antihistamine every day because they got bad allergies, and I don't blame you. [00:05:30] The problem is that can play with the circuitry within your heart, it makes you much more susceptible to atrial fibrillation. Again, which is one of the leading causes of strokes. Here's another one. Not only that, medication like anti-histamine, here's another medication, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, over the counter meds for pain, meds for pain, [00:06:00] your Advil. And I know Tylenol is not necessarily a non-steroidal, but it's still a medication over the counter, and it can affect the upper chambers of the heart. These medications, even though they're over the counter, people think over the counter, they're safe, but they're not. And look, you've got a headache and you want to get rid of your headache, I got it. I understand that. But just understand that when you take these meds every day, [00:06:30] over a long period of time, it can be an effect.
Dr. Martin: Now the other thing is soda, high sugar, diet sodas. What are they saying now, the average American is consuming somewhere between a 38 and 50 gallons of soda a year, and soda full of sugar. A sugary diet guys, has a major effect on [00:07:00] atrial fibrillation. Here's another one. Alcohol. Alcohol, be careful, alcohol affects the circuitry of the heart. So don't, and I know ladies, you like your glass of wine. I hear that every day in the office. "Doc, I don't drink really, but I have a glass of wine every night." I don't know about that, that can be an effect when you add it in, especially with dehydration, you add it in with a lack of sleep, [00:07:30] and you add it in.
Dr. Martin: Anyways, I'm not telling you you can't touch alcohol, I'm just telling you what statistics show in terms of atrial fibrillation. Okay, so we talked about the causes, we talked about what it is, and now let me just tell you how I treat atrial fibrillation. Okay? Obviously the diet is important, drinking water is important. Vitamin W, okay, it should be a new vitamin because you [00:08:00] can't live without water, and only water is water. Juice isn't water. Okay? So it's not water, tea isn't water, coffee isn't water, water's water. So water, you need to drink two liters or 64 ounces, and for some people you need more than that, but you need that to have a healthy heart.
Dr. Martin: And think of your blood flow, because one of the things that they put you on, if you got atrial fib is they put you on a blood thinner. [00:08:30] They want to keep your blood thin so that you don't have a stroke. The problem with that is there's many side effects, but one of the best blood thinners, natural, better than aspirin is what? H2O, water. Blood needs water. Your blood is a river, it goes through thousands of miles of blood vessels within your body, you need to add water so that the blood flows [00:09:00] properly. Okay, you got it. I know I've been harping on water this morning, but water is very, very important. Okay?
Dr. Martin: Here's another one. Magnesium. Think of the word relax. Anytime you think of magnesium, think of the word Relax. Relax. Okay? It relaxes your blood vessels, it relaxes the heart muscle. Magnesium, and most people are deficient in magnesium, it's not in the soil [00:09:30] anymore, therefore it's not in the food like it used to be, so I'm very big on my patients taking magnesium.
Dr. Martin: Here's another one, really effective, is high levels of Omega3. Yes, healthy fat. Don't be fat-free, if you're eating a fat free diet, you're much more susceptible to atrial fibrillation. If someone calls you fat head take it as a compliment, you need fat, fat, [00:10:00] fat, fat, and the best fat is Omega3. Guess where you find the best Omega3, grass fed beef or fish. Yeah, fish. And I don't, I wish I liked fish more than I do, but I take fish capsules, high DHA. The DHA is the best for the brain and for the heart.
Dr. Martin: Here's another one. I often put patients on CoQ10 for the heart because CoQ10 is [00:10:30] very important for the heart. Now CoQ10, I don't take it necessarily as a supplement, although we have it in our heart and brain, Navitol Heart and Brain. But guess where you get CoQ10? In red meat? Yes, grass fed beef has got high, high levels of CoQ10.
Dr. Martin: Another one that I use, and be careful if you, what will thin your blood is, and if you're [00:11:00] on a blood thinner be careful, if you've already got atrial fib and your doctors put you on, avoid the green leafy vegetables because of the K1. You can take K2, K2 is not the same. K1, be careful with that one. Okay? K1 is found in your green leafy vegetables. Now... And then get your cortisol down, obviously get the cortisol down, get your estrogen down. Ladies, get the cortisol down, it's very important for your heart. And [00:11:30] so atrial fib is a major issue today. And I hope you enjoyed our little teaching this morning. So if you have any other topics that you want me to cover, just send them along, we're happy to do it. And Hey, love you guys.
Announcer: You've reached the end of another Doctor Is In podcast with your hosts, Dr. Martin junior and senior. Be sure to catch our next episode, and thanks for listening.