Terrific new book: “The Beat of Life”

Stumbled upon this new book in my local library. Published last year and written by Dr Reinhard Friedl who is a long time German Heart Surgeon.

“He examined closely the latest findings in neurocardiology and psychocardiology and shares his discoveries, using riveting personal stories to illustrate the complex relationship between the heart, the brain and the psyche”.

He writes about heart rate variability:

“Most people want a regular heartbeat. If you measure accurately, however, the heart also beats chaotically and irregularly when at peace. The interval between heartbeats, too, is by nature always different, never the same; it varies by up to several hundred milliseconds.
So the healthy heart is by no means the Swiss clock it was long thought to be”.

He examines LAF also. It is an easy read and not full of technical jargon. I personally found the book relaxed me about heart issues.

Enjoy!

Dean

Looks interesting. Order placed!

Quote
Dean
“Most people want a regular heartbeat. If you measure accurately, however, the heart also beats chaotically and irregularly when at peace. The interval between heartbeats, too, is by nature always different, never the same; it varies by up to several hundred milliseconds.
So the healthy heart is by no means the Swiss clock it was long thought to be”.

Interesting little fact about this natural irregularity: A metronome-like, perfectly regular heartbeat is an ominous sign because it often precedes cardiac arrest.

While in AFIB my HRV is off the charts!

Thanyou Dean. Very interesting. Ive read several books on the Mind Body connection. Dr Sarno Dr Schubiner etc. its absolutely 1 million % Think about one simple thing: if you are frightened your HR increases. Thats the brain effecting the HR. There are hundreds of examples. Most chronic pain is mind body not tissue damage. Back pain migranes hemmeroids etc etc. i wish afib was but it’s diagnosed on scans ekg etc
That being said our emotions can create adrenaline cortisol etc which can trigger an arrhythmia

This surgeon, having along the years of work in the operating rooms put most of his emotions aside, is now considering the heart not only as a pump, but as one of the main sources of our emotions. He tries to explain how he's convinced our brain and our heart are like Romeo and Juliet, they're in love, they're emotionally connected.
I'm sure they are. In lots of ways and intensities, but highly depending on the person.
I'd like to share two examples...

The first one is of a colleague from the office, who sadly died some years ago following a heart attack. He was overweight, had high blood pressure for which he was taking meds and, above all, was afraid of the doctors. He did'nt want to see his cardiologist, and the day he had an appointment, his anxiety was strong, his BP higher than ever. I think he didn't want to listen to the messages his body was sending him, and he didn't want to hear what his doctors were about to tell him. He didn't want to hear he had to lose some weight, stop smoking and drinking... things like that. He knew he was sick, but refused to be told the reasons for this and having to assume the consequences.

The second one is of myself. I've HR disorders I'd like to get rid of. An appointment with my cardiologist or EP doesn't scare me. It's the opposite : I'm quiet when I'm there. I'd like to show them I'm not as fine as the ECG tracing is telling, but this sheet of paper only shows NSR. Not a single ectopic. I said them I still had afib, but the episodes never came while I was wearing the holter monitor. They came the day before, or the day after. I now have my own 1-lead home ECG recorder, so I can show them the tracings I caught while I was in afib.
But there's something strange : sometimes, I can't record my NSR. I'm in bed, my heart quietly pumping around 60BPM, no ectopics at all (I'm sure there's not a single one – I feel them all – I could count them). I grab my monitor – it's always to hand on my bedside table –, switch it on, hold it between my right hand and my ribcage (left side, approximatively where you'd stick the V4 electrode), and start the recording... And bam ! There's an ectopic ! Sometimes, I've to make several recordings to get a « good » one. I know it's purely emotional. I'm not going to have runs of PACs or afib. No, just a PAC here and there. Exactly the opposite of the wanted result. I do my best to relax, but holding the device near my heart rises my emotions. Even my breathing is not the same.

Those things are emotional. Anxiety, nervousness...
In july, I watched the Tour de France (bicycling) at the TV. Some stages were full of suspense. They gave me ectopics, the same way a scary movie can give me ectopics.