John Kennedy, a Dartmouth Medical School alumnus and cardiologist , discussed the topic of his book, The 15 Minute Heart Cure: The Natural Way to Release Stress and Heal Your Heart in Just Minutes a Day, last Tuesday, April 13th , as part of the Dartmouth Medical School Bridging Program. Kennedy discussed the negative effects of stress on the heart as well as his BREATHE technique to combat stress.
Kennedy pointed out that in the midst of an economic downturn, a healthcare crisis, and two wars, stress is ubiquitous and is directly affecting our cardiovascular health.
He explained further that the stress response stems from a time when humans may have had to worry about escaping a saber tooth tiger. Today, however, more mundane things trigger stress.
The long list includes natural disasters, relationship strife, traffic, terrorist attacks, sporting events, hostility in men or depression in women, panic, and work. Interestingly, most deaths occur on Christmas and New Year’s. Kennedy suggested that this elevated cardiovascular mortality around the holidays is caused by stress from the financial pressures of buying gifts, entertaining, and dealing with dysfunctional family issues.
While stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, leading to inflammation and decreased heart variability, relaxation activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which causes anti-inflammatory effects and increases heart rate variability. In short, stress is bad for the heart, and relaxation is an effective tool for reversing the negative effects of stress.
Kennedy provided professional athletes’ use of breathing and visualization techniques as an example of dealing well with stress. Kennedy cited famous NBA coach Phil Jackson as well as NBA player Baron Davis as advocates of visualization and breathing in stressful game situations. These cases illustrate how the right techniques give us the ability to cope with stress.
Kennedy developed the BREATHE technique consisting of seven steps that involve guided imagery and breathing exercises. BREATHE serves as an acronym for the seven steps of the program:
B for “begin”
R for “relax,” in which one takes seven breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth (an important step, as deep-breathing stimulates the relaxation response and increases heart rate variability),
E for “envision,”
A for “apply/action”
T for “treatment/therapy”,
H for “heal,” as it is proven that relaxation causes heart rate, blood pressure, and inflammatory markers to go down,
E for “end.”
Kennedy concluded that we are living in an incredibly stressful time. He insisted that even if one does not use the BREATHE technique, it is important to manage stress to protect the heart and be more effective in all aspects of life.