Together they kill almost as many people as all other diseases together, including cancer, particularly in northern Europe and North America.

Most heart and arterial disease is caused by poor eating and living habits (including smoking), stress, lack of exercise and excess weight. More than half the people who are overweight die of heart disease or related problems such as stroke, for example, while in most Western countries an increasing number of quite young people, even teenagers, are suffering from advanced arterial disease.

Yet both conditions seem to be almost unknown among primitive societies - which is why they are often called "the classic diseases of civilization" and why they are variously estimated to be about 95 percent preventable. Recent research, particularly in the United States, has shown that the same factors that can cause disease can also reverse it if turned around.

Balanced diet, exercise, relaxation, and healthy living generally have now been shown to be capable of unclogging arteries and reenergizing the heart. For this reason, alternative medicine has moved to the forefront in many countries in the treatment of heart and arterial disease, and could become more important than conventional management drugs in the years ahead.

Heart, blood vessels, and blood make up the circulai system, which circulates blood around your body.

Blood carries oxygen from the air to "fuel" the cells, nutrients to feed the body, and other chemicals, such as hormones, essential for the body's function, repair, and maintenance as well as protection against disease.

Poor Circulation

The heart pumps the blood, arteries carry it from the heart, and veins return it to the heart. Normally, the heart pumps about 10pt/51 of blood per minute around the body. However, if the blood flow is restrictead for some reason, circulation is slowed down. Poor circulation occurs mainly in the elderly and most often affects the areas farthest from the heart. Medically the condition is known generally as peripheral ischemia and can result in a wide range of symptoms, from cold hands and feet and cramp, to gangrene in extreme cases, where an area of tissue dies and starts to decay. Poor circulation is usually the result of the combined effect of a less healthy heart and narrowed and hardem arteries, normally as a result of age. Smoking is the most common cause but it can also be a concomitant symptom of diabetes, infection, long exposure to cold.

Treatment

Treatment should concentrate on stopping smoking and increasing the supply of blood to the area by helping the blood vessels to expand and the heart to pump more effectively. Improvement in the quality of the blood, particularly its red cell count, should also be sought.

Massage This is a good way to stimulate the circulation in any condition. Do not massage directly over injuries (cuts, bruises, or breaks), inflamed veins (phlebitis), varicose veins, or tumors. Alternatives to massage are reflexology and aromatherapy with black pepper and rosemary essential oils.

Hypnosis/Biofeedback Temperature biofeedback training may help to raise the temperature of the extremities.

Diet and Nutrition In addition to a generally healthy diet, eat plenty of oily fish such as mackerel, herring, salmon, and tuna. Food supplements recommended are vitamin A, C, E, selenium, zinc, manganese, and the essential fatty acids EPA and GLA.

Herbal Medicine The following herbs are widely believed to act as tonics on the blood: garlic, hawthorn berries (crataegus), echinacea, ginger, cayenne, chili and black pepper, prickly ash, and hops.