Based on the groundbreaking results of his twenty-year nutritional study, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn  illustrates that a plant-based, oil-free diet can not only prevent the progression of heart disease but can also reverse its effects.  Dr. Esselstyn is an internationally known surgeon, researcher and former clinician at the Cleveland Clinic and a featured expert in the acclaimed documentary Forks Over Knives. Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease has helped thousands across the country, and is the book behind Bill Clinton’s life-changing vegan diet.

The proof lies in the incredible outcomes for patients who have followed Dr. Esselstyn's program, including a number of patients in his original study who had been told by their cardiologists that they had less than a year to live. Within months of starting the program, all Dr. Esselstyn’s patients began to improve dramatically, and twenty years later, they remain free of symptoms.
​
Complete with more than 150 delicious recipes perfect for a plant-based diet, the national bestseller Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease explains the science behind the simple plan that has drastically changed the lives of heart disease patients forever. It will empower readers and give them the tools to take control of their heart health.

Hundreds of thousands of readers have been inspired to turn their lives around by Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn’s Jr.’s bestseller, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. The plant-based nutrition plan Dr. Esselstyn advocates based on his twenty-year nutritional study—the most comprehensive of its kind—is proven to stop and reverse even advanced coronary disease, and is built on the message the Esselstyn family has lived by for years: Your health is truly in your own hands, and what you eat matters.

Mother-daughter team Ann and Jane Esselstyn have decades of experience developing delicious, healthful recipes for both their family and Dr. Esselstyn’s many grateful patients. Now, they combine their expertise to offer you the cookbook companion to Dr. Esselstyn’s groundbreaking book, with more than 125 easy and mouthwatering recipes, brimming with nourishment for your heart and your overall health. From their quick and easy meals like Fast Pasta and Greens and delicious “Sloppy Joes” to their indulgent desserts like their signature Kale Cake and Minty Frozen Chocolate Balls, these recipes will empower you to reclaim your health and discover the pleasures of eating plant-based.

The solution for chronic inflammation, regarded as the cause of most common modern diseases, has been identified! And it is not blueberries. It is something right beneath our feet-the Earth itself!

Throughout most of evolution humans walked barefoot and slept on the ground, largely oblivious that the surface of the Earth contains limitless healing energy. Science has discovered this energy as free-flowing electrons constantly replenished by solar radiation and lightning. Few people know it, but the ground provides a subtle electric signal that maintains health and governs the intricate mechanisms that make our bodies work-just like plugging a lamp into a power socket makes it light up. Modern lifestyle, including the widespread use of insulative rubber or plastic-soled shoes, has disconnected us from this energy and, of course, we no longer sleep on the ground as we did in times past.

Earthing introduces the planet's powerful, amazing, and overlooked natural healing energy and how people anywhere can readily connect to it. This eye-opening book describes how the physical disconnect with the Earth creates abnormal physiology and contributes to inflammation, pain, fatigue, stress, and poor sleep. By reconnecting to the Earth, symptoms are rapidly relieved and even eliminated and recovery from surgery, injury, and athletic overexertion is accelerated.

This never-before-told story-filled with fascinating research and real-life testimonials- chronicles a discovery with the potential to create a global health revolution.

​Living in New York City, Sarah (Jennifer Aniston) must make the cross-country trip back to her home state of California for the wedding of her younger sister (Mena Suvari). Once with her family, Sarah learns some interesting things from her grandmother (Shirley MacLaine), including the family's inspirational ties to the famous film "The Graduate." But all this leads to millionaire Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner), and Sarah wants answers -- especially since Burroughs might be her real father.

When astronaut Spencer Armacost (Johnny Depp) returns to Earth after a mission that nearly cost him his life, he decides to take a desk job in order to see his beautiful wife, Jillian (Charlize Theron), more often. Gradually, Jillian notices that Spencer's personality seems to have changed, but her concerns fade when she discovers that she's pregnant. As Jillian grows closer to becoming a mother, her suspicions about Spencer return. Why does it seem as if he's a different person?

​In the early 1960s, Victor Torres and his family moved to Brooklyn from Puerto Rico in search of a new life. The American dream quickly fades as they face a life of want in their adopted home. As a new recruit in a street gang, Victor embarks on a lucrative new drug trafficking business in an attempt to help his struggling family. Victor is quickly enslaved by drug use, and his parents, Manuel and Lila, desperately search to find a way to help their son.

"I Am Sam" is the compelling story of Sam Dawson (Sean Penn), a mentally-challenged father raising his daughter Lucy (Dakota Fanning) with the help of a unique group of friends. As Lucy turns seven and begins to intellectually surpass her father, their close bond is threatened when their unconventional living arrangement comes to the attention of a social worker who wants Lucy placed in foster care.

Tom and Lauren thwart a watery suicide attempt. The drowning young man turns out to be Danny, who was accused of the murder of an old woman many years ago. Although Tom provided psychological testimony at the trial, he seizes the chance to help.

Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling), a hotshot prosecutor, is about to leave his post for a lucrative job at a private law firm when his boss (David Strathairn) hands him a seemingly open-and-shut case. Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) tried to kill his wife with a shot to the head and is defending himself in court. All hope for a quick and easy trial fly out the door when Ted proves to be a more cunning and devious adversary than Willy anticipates.

​Hoping to get support from his mother (Naomi Watts) and grandmother (Susan Sarandon), a New York teen (Elle Fanning) prepares to transition from female to male.

Lauren Adrian (Jennifer Lopez), a Chicago reporter, travels to Mexico to investigate the unsolved murders of hundreds of Mexican women taking place over the years near an American-owned factory. Lauren reunites with Alfonso Diaz (Antonio Banderas), her former lover and colleague, who publicizes the murders despite threats from local authorities. Together the pair seek the truth and try to help the survivor (Maya Zapata) of a brutal attack find justice.

​Addie Moore and Louis Waters, a widow and widower, have lived next door to each other for years. When Addie tries to make a connection with her neighbor, the two begin sleeping in bed together platonically, with the innocent goal of alleviating their shared loneliness. As their relationship deepens, however, they each deal with grief and loss, and a real romance begins to blossom.

A woman accidentally kills her husband during a kinky game. Handcuffed to her bed with no hope of rescue, she begins hearing voices and seeing strange visions.

Between all my recent testing for an heart evaluation, I did throw in a bit more concern about that neck pain that occurred and continues to plague me although not as severe.

My primary mentioned it could be a touch of idiopathic Torticollis. Wry neck, or torticollis, is a painfully twisted and tilted neck. The top of the head generally tilts to one side while the chin tilts to the other side.

This condition can be congenital (present at birth) or acquired. It can also be the result of damage to the neck muscles or blood supply. Wry neck sometimes goes away without treatment. However, there’s a chance of relapse.

Chronic wry neck can cause debilitating pain and difficulty performing daily tasks. Fortunately, medications and therapies can relieve pain and stiffness. Surgery can also sometimes correct the condition. Treatment is most successful if it’s started early. This is especially true for children.

Wry neck can be inherited. It can also develop in the womb. This may happen if your baby’s head is in the wrong position. It can also be due to damage to the muscles or blood supply to the neck.

Anyone can develop wry neck after a muscle or nervous system injury. However, most of the time, the cause of wry neck is unknown. This is referred to as idiopathic torticollis
​
Types of torticollis

Temporary torticollis

This type of wry neck usually disappears after one or two days. It can be due to:

• swollen lymph nodes
• an ear infection
• a cold
• an injury to your head and neck that causes swelling

Fixed torticollis

Fixed torticollis is also called acute torticollis or permanent torticollis. It’s usually due to a problem with the muscular or bone structure.

Muscular torticollis

This is the most common type of fixed torticollis. It results from scarring or tight muscles on one side of the neck.

Klippel-Feil syndrome

This is a rare, congenital form of wry neck. It occurs when the bones in your baby’s neck form incorrectly, notably due to two neck vertebrae being fused together. Children born with this condition may have difficulty with hearing and vision.

Cervical dystonia

This rare disorder is sometimes referred to as spasmodic torticollis. It causes neck muscles to contract in spasms. If you have cervical dystonia, your head twists or turns painfully to one side. It may also tilt forward or backward. Cervical dystonia sometimes goes away without treatment, but there’s a risk of recurrence.

Cervical dystonia can happen to anyone. However, it’s most commonly diagnosed in people who are roughly ages 40 to 60. It also affects more women than men.

Symptoms of wry neck

Symptoms of wry neck can begin slowly. They may also worsen over time. The most common symptoms include:

• an inability to move your head normally
• neck pain or stiffness
• a headache
• having one shoulder higher than the other
• swollen neck muscles
• a tilting of your chin to one side

The faces of children with congenital wry neck may appear flattened and unbalanced. They may also have motor skill delays or difficulties with hearing and vision.

What to expect at the doctor’s office

Your doctor will want to take your medical history and conduct a physical exam. Be sure to tell them about any injuries to your neck area. Several types of tests can also determine the cause of your wry neck.

An electromyogram (EMG) measures electrical activity in your muscles. It can determine which muscles are affected.

Imaging tests such as X-rays and MRI scans can also be used to find structural problems that might be causing your symptoms.

Treatments for wry neck

Currently, there’s no way to prevent wry neck. However, getting treatment quickly can keep it from becoming worse.

You can improve congenital forms of wry neck by stretching the neck muscles. If started within a few months of birth, it can be very successful. If this or other treatments don’t work, surgery can sometimes correct the problem.

Your doctor can treat acquired wry neck according to the cause if it’s known.

Treatments for wry neck include:

• applying heat
• massage
• physical therapy or chiropractic care
• traction
• stretching exercises
• neck braces

Your doctor may recommend surgery, such as:

• fusing abnormal vertebrae
• lengthening neck muscles
• cutting nerves or muscles
• using deep brain stimulation to interrupt nerve signals (used only in the most severe cases of cervical dystonia)

Medications can be helpful. They can include:

• muscle relaxants
• medications used to treat the tremors of Parkinson’s disease
• botulinum toxin injections repeated every few months
• pain medications

Living with wry neck

​Wry neck caused by a minor injury or illness is likely temporary and treatable. However, congenital and more severe forms of wry neck can cause long-term health problems.

Chronic wry neck can cause complications, including:

• swollen neck muscles
• neurological symptoms from compressed nerves
• chronic pain
• difficulty performing routine tasks
• an inability to drive
• difficulty socializing
• isolation
• depression

If your wry neck isn’t treatable, consider seeking out a support group. Many people with chronic conditions find them both comforting and informative. Your doctor or local hospital may be able to give you information about groups that meet in your area. You may also be able to find a supportive community online. Communicating with others who have wry neck or similar conditions can help you cope. - Healthline

Once I finished the chest x-ray, I was immediately sent across to the next building to complete an EKG.  My doctor expressed concern over my increasing irregular heart palpitations and felt it best to rule out any underlying bio electrical issues.  
​
​When your doctor may suggests you get an electrocardiogram -- also called an EKG or ECG -- it is to check for signs of heart disease. It's a test that records the electrical activity of your ticker through small electrode patches that a technician attaches to the skin of your chest, arms, and legs.

EKGs are quick, safe, and painless. With this test, your doctor will be able to:

• Check your heart rhythm
• See if you have poor blood flow to your heart muscle (this is called ischemia)
• Diagnose a heart attack
• Check on things that are abnormal, such as thickened heart muscle

How Should I Prepare?

Some things you can do to get yourself ready:

• Avoid oily or greasy skin creams and lotions the day of the test because they can keep the electrodes from making contact with your skin.
• Avoid full-length hosiery, because electrodes need to be placed directly on your legs.
• Wear a shirt that you can remove easily to place the leads on your chest.

​
What Happens During an Electrocardiogram?

A technician will attach 10 electrodes with adhesive pads to the skin of your chest, arms, and legs. If you're a guy, you may need to have your chest hair shaved to allow a better connection.

During the test you'll lie flat while a computer creates a picture, on graph paper, of the electrical impulses that move through your heart. This is called a "resting" EKG, although the same test may be used to check your heart while you exercise.

It takes about 10 minutes to attach the electrodes and complete the test, but the actual recording takes only a few seconds.
Your doctor will keep your EKG patterns on file so that he can compare them to tests you get in the future. - Web MD

My test showed a Left Bundle Branch Block or LBB.  More information to be sent over to the Cardiologist.

A bundle branch block is a condition in which there's a delay or blockage along the pathway that electrical impulses travel to make your heart beat. It sometimes makes it harder for your heart to pump blood efficiently through your body.

The delay or blockage can occur on the pathway that sends electrical impulses either to the left or the right side of the bottom chambers (ventricles) of your heart.

Bundle branch block might not need treatment. When it does, treatment involves managing the health condition, such as heart disease, that caused bundle branch block.

Symptoms

In most people, bundle branch block doesn't cause symptoms. Some people with the condition don't know they have a bundle branch block.

Signs and symptoms in people who have them might include:

• Fainting (syncope)
• Feeling as if you're going to faint (presyncope)

​
When to see a doctor

If you've fainted, see your doctor to rule out serious causes.

If you have heart disease, or if your doctor has already diagnosed you as having bundle branch block, ask your doctor how often you should have follow-up visits. You might want to carry a medical alert card that identifies you as having bundle branch block in case a doctor who isn't familiar with your medical history sees you in an emergency. - Mayo Clinic

I have just made an appointment with the cardiologist, and they have asked me to come in to get a 24 hour holster monitor before my appointment.  Fingers crossed!

During the month of May, I was plagued with more nuances of the heart. It happens to be a busy month if you are working in a school setting.  I took stock due to this, made notes, and decided it would be a good time to mention it to my primary care provider again when my check up was due the last week of the month.  

I had been experiencing more fatigue, upper chest tightness, a bit more pain in my upper spine area, and definitely more palpitations than the previous month.  There were times it seemed as if my heart stopped all together and then a resonating "boom" would kick it back to its normal rhythm.  I have complained often of these strange sensations, but it had never been this pronounced.  After all, several EKG's showed no abnormalities to worry about through the years.

Nonetheless, he ordered several tests since I hadn't had a full work-up done since 2007.  The first ordered was a simple chest x-ray.  ​Your doctor uses a chest X-ray to:

• Look at your chest bones, heart, and lungs
• See if your pacemaker, defibrillator, or other heart devices are in place
• To check on any catheters and chest tubes you may have.

​
You don’t need to do anything to get ready for it. But you do need to let the technician know if you could be pregnant. Luckily they had a chest x-ray machine in the building, so I trudged over there to perform the first round of testing.  

The X-ray will take no more than 10 to 15 minutes. You’ll have to remove all of your clothes and jewelry from the waist up, and wear a hospital gown. And you have to stand very still while you hold your breath.
The process is painless and simple. It can show your doctor if you have:

• Fluid in or around your lungs
• Enlarged heart
• Blood vessel problems, such as an aortic aneurysm. This is a bulge in your aorta, the vessel that carries blood from your heart to your chest and beyond.
• Congenital heart disease (heart problems you’re born with)
• Calcium build-up in the heart or blood vessels, which could make a heart attack more likely. - Web MD.

The very next day I got a call back stating that there was calcification in my aorta.  I can tell you my heart sank.  As an individual plagued with fibromyalgia, the worst news you can get is a positive result when you are already dealing with a chronic illness.  More importantly, that means more testing which is very difficult for those suffering from the illness especially if you have multiple chemical sensitivities.  

​What Is Atherosclerosis?

Atherosclerosis -- hardening and narrowing of the arteries -- silently and slowly blocks arteries, putting blood flow at risk.It’s the usual cause of heart attacks, strokes, and peripheral vascular disease -- what together are called cardiovascular disease.

How does atherosclerosis develop? Who gets it, and why? This deadly process is preventable and treatable.

Causes

First, an Anatomy 101 review: Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood from the heart throughout the body. They're lined by a thin layer of cells called the endothelium. The endothelium works to keep the inside of arteries toned and smooth, which keeps blood flowing.

​Atherosclerosis begins with damage to the endothelium. It’s caused by high blood pressure, smoking, or high cholesterol. That damage leads to the formation of plaque.

When bad cholesterol, or LDL, crosses the damaged endothelium, the cholesterol enters the wall of the artery. That causes your white blood cellsto stream in to digest the LDL. Over years, cholesterol and cells become plaque in the wall of the artery.

Plaque creates a bump on the artery wall. As atherosclerosis progresses, that bump gets bigger. When it gets big enough, it can create a blockage. That process goes on throughout your entire body. As a result, not only is your heart at risk, but you are also at risk for stroke and other health problems.

Atherosclerosis usually doesn’t cause symptoms until middle or older age. But as the narrowing becomes severe, it can choke off blood flow and cause pain. Blockages can also rupture suddenly. That’ll cause blood to clot inside an artery at the site of the rupture. - Web MD

Well, I can ultimately say that my diet can not be the cause of this as it is very rigid.  The other fault it could be is labile blood pressure.  My blood pressure fluctuates within extreme highs and lows when I am emotionally stressed or overwhelmed.  And, unfortunately, my BP medication can't always keep up with the normal flow.  

​Labile means easily changed. Hypertension is another term for high blood pressure. Labile hypertension occurs when a person’s blood pressure repeatedly or suddenly changes from normal to abnormally high levels. Labile hypertension usually happens during stressful situations.

It’s normal for your blood pressure to change a bit throughout the day. Physical activity, salt intake, caffeine, alcohol, sleep, and emotional stress all can impact your blood pressure. In labile hypertension, these swings in blood pressure are much larger than normal.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is defined as having a blood pressure of 130/80 mm Hg and higher. This includes those individuals with any top reading (systolic) 130 and above, or any bottom reading (diastolic) 80 and above. People with labile hypertension will have a blood pressure measurement of 130/80 mm Hg and over for a short period of time. Their blood pressure will then return to a normal range later on. - Health Line

With this information in tow, I am off to see the cardiologist to see what information and preventative measures he can recommend.  

​Charlie, a good-hearted country boy, and Nancy, an aspiring singer, begin a new relationship. Nancy's budding career and interference by her producer cause Charlie to question the relationship.

​A young man is stunned to discover that he was kidnapped as a child by the woman he's called mother his entire life. Now, he's left to deal with the consequences of her actions and finally meet his biological family.

With her divorce looming, a lawyer (Catherine Keener) ventures to upstate New York with her children in tow to visit her hippie mother (Jane Fonda), whom she hasn't seen in 20 years.

​After a bad breakup with his girlfriend leaves him heartbroken, Carter Webb (Adam Brody) moves to Michigan to take care of his ailing grandmother (Olympia Dukakis). Once there, he gets mixed up in the lives of the mother (Meg Ryan) and daughters who live across the street.

The true story of how Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), a struggling salesman from Illinois, met Mac (John Carroll Lynch) and Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman), who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers' speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. Kroc soon maneuvers himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a multi-billion dollar empire.

I had an interesting affliction the other day that a bit of research didn't answer completely.  I was sitting quietly at the beach when I felt a pinching pain in the middle of my left neck.  I began feeling disoriented, so I packed up my belongings and quickly went home.  I might add it was not an overwhelming hot day and I had only been there an hour.

On my bike ride home I noticed the pain worsening.  By the time I was home, and out of the shower, it was excruciating.  Not throbbing, not hot, just like some body builder punched me dead in the neck.  

I came across a few things on the Internet.  There's not much in that area, in terms of offering such severe pain, but I did come up with something - carotidynia.  I'd like to share it with you in case someone else has been in the same predicament.  Most importantly, I had to DIG DEEP for this one by scaling the health boards so that tells me it may not be common knowledge for most of our primary care physicians.  

Carotidynia refers to a syndrome which causes a one-sided/unilateral tenderness of the carotid artery near the bifurcation. Palpation of the carotid artery present in the neck results in a type of a headache that resonates on the face, ears and neck. In most cases, carotidynia occurs in people below the age of sixty and women are four times more prone to suffer from such a pain.

Sometimes, people describe carotidynia as a secondary headache because of its association with other underlying health problems that can be the probable cause of the pain. Misdiagnosis of carotidynia as chronic sinusitis or trigeminal neuralgia is an ordinary possibility in the early stages of the syndrome.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PAIN

• Usually centered around the neck, it can radiate to the ears, molar region and the face as well
• Dull throbbing pain that may occur throughout the day or may come and go for some hours
• Intensity of the pain varies from mild to agonizing
• Pain may increase substantially while yawning, swallowing, sneezing, coughing or lifting the head towards a collateral side

​CAUSES OF CAROTIDYNIA

• Vascular changes: The carotids artery is a primary blood vessel that supplies oxygenated blood to the brain and is present around the neck. Any change or inflammation in the carotid artery can cause carotidynia.
• Genetic causes: It is seen that people whose parents suffer from carotidynia are more likely to experience a similar kind of pain. This indicates that genetic material could also carry elements that result in such type of pain. Hence, carotidynia can also be a hereditary problem.
• Environmental factors: Exposure to cold weather may trigger a headache in some people. People who are in the habit of smoking regularly are also susceptible to carotidynia due to plaque formation in the arteries. The pain may also occur in people who have undergone a recent dental surgery.
• Migraine: Migraine is a common cause of carotidynia. There is a high incidence of vascular headaches in family or individual medical backgrounds before the onset of carotidynia. People having ‘migraine personalities’ which has sensitivity, compulsiveness and conscientiousness as its characteristics are more likely to be subject to such pain. If migraine is the cause of carotidynia, patients suffer most while experiencing fatigue, stress or frustration. In such cases, the pain may continue to recur over months and years accompanied with pain that is deep-seated and dull.
• Infection or Post infection: Health conditions such as infection in aphthous ulcers, pharyngitis and viral upper respiratory tract infection occur before the onset of carotidynia. Such instances are more likely among those who have anxiety and the most common symptom is the experience of a sore throat. People suffering from carotidynia due to infection or post-infection do not have a history of a migraine in their family or their past. The symptoms may be present for an average of 11.6 days, and the condition is a result of a viral cause.
• Carotid Artery Aneurysm: Carotid artery aneurysm is a tender carotid artery that can be present anywhere along the internal or common carotid arteries. The mass may or may not be pulsatile if at all it is palpable. Neurological complications such as strokes, transient cerebral ischemia, coma, amaurosis fugax, syncope, etc. are common while rupture of the artery is unusual.
• Giant Cell Arteritis: Cranial arteritis mostly occurs among people aged over 55 years. However, younger people may be subject to carotid arteritis. Low-grade fever, tender carotid arteries and malaise are characteristics of this health problem.

​DIAGNOSIS OF CAROTIDYNIA

• Physical examination
• Thorough examination of the individual’s personal and family medical history
• Laboratory or radiology test
• Examination of the head & neck
• Direct or indirect laryngoscopy
• Duplex scanning
• Angiography
• MRI
• Intra-arterial angiography

​
HOME REMEDIES

Using an ice pack on the neck may be helpful in reducing the pain and swelling, apply the ice pack for about 10 – 20 minutes while placing a thin cloth between the skin and the ice pack. Prevent chances of frostbite by making sure of not leaving the ice on the skin for too long.

Use a heating pad set on low or a bottle of warm water or a warm cloth is advisable, but avoid going to sleep with a heating pad on the skin.


​TREATMENT OF CAROTIDYNIA

Usually, carotidynia is a condition that is self-correcting. The doctor prescribes medications to treat migraine and corticosteroids. The medication prescribed depends on the course of treatment that the doctor chooses for the patient. Certain medicines that prevent the occurrence of irreversible blindness are also given to the patient.

Of course, this is nothing to play around with.  Like I said previously, I have a call into my doctor to ensure this is not serious.  Should you experience the same, I advise you to seek medical treatment.  

,Heart palpitations run rampant in the fibromyalgia community.  Type in "Fibromyalgia and heart issues" on your browser's search engine and a myriad of comments, suggestions, and studies ensue.  

Take a look on any fibromyalgia symptom board and minor heart irregularities linked to a possible autonomic nervous system response seem to top the charts.  I have been personally told, by my primary physician, that these specific palpitations and irregularities may be stemming from diet, stress, and lack of exercise.  

Yet, I exercise a minimum of 30 minutes a day.  I weight lift at least once a week, and I keep to a very strict diet.  Still weight loss and gain show common discrepancies.  Simply put, nothing seems to work consistently all the time.  The doctor even went so far to say that my strict, healthy diet may be harboring the genetics to lower my metabolism.  Which in all fairness to him, is more than likely true.  Nonetheless, he ordered some routine testing and a trip to the cardiologist.

Seven years ago, when I first harbored the initial symptoms of fibromyalgia I had heart irregularities.  I was sent for the same workup.  This same workup stumped my primary and specialists showing no heart abnormalities.  Today, the first of the two referrals popped up with some minor issues.  The heart x-ray showed some plaque to my aorta, and the EKG showed some minor shifts from the first one completed in 2011.  The verdict on a recent phone call from the nurse stated, "I have the lab results from your recent testing......... Have you made an appointment with the cardiologist yet?  The doctor wants me to impress the importance that you need to see the specialist immediately."  

Of course, I went on an internet research spree and I now share with you a recent scientific study posted in Fibromyalgia News Today by Magdalena Kegel - 

Fibromyalgia is common among patients with chronic heart failure, according to research from Australia, which demonstrated that the condition was linked to poorer health outcomes.

Cardiac failure patients with fibromyalgia were also more commonly affected by other diseases believed to stem from so-called central sensitivity — abnormal brain and spinal cord responses to sensory stimuli.
The finding that fibromyalgia is common in this patient group provides an opportunity to address not only heart failure, but also fibromyalgia symptoms, the research team from Monash University School of Medicine in Melbourne, Australia, argued.

The study, “Fibromyalgia has a high prevalence and impact in cardiac failure patients,”was published in the European Journal of Rheumatology.

Earlier research showed that fibromyalgia often coexists with other chronic diseases, ranging from autoimmune conditions to infectious diseases such as hepatitis.

Patients with coronary artery disease, a heart condition in which blood vessels become blocked with plaque, often have fibromyalgia. A study found that the severity of fibromyalgia followed the severity of the heart disease.

But there had been no data, until now, on the prevalence of fibromyalgia in patients with cardiac failure, the Monash research team noted.

The team recruited 57 heart failure patients, of which 63.2% were men. The average age of the group was 70.3 years. These characteristics differ from typical fibromyalgia patients, which are mainly younger women.

Among them, 22.8% fulfilled diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia. Even more — 31% — had widespread musculoskeletal pain, with at least 11 tender points. In addition, 19.3% had depression. When this number was split for those with and without fibromyalgia, slightly more patients in the fibromyalgia group were affected by depression.

Patients with fibromyalgia and heart failure scored worse on all aspects of a general health assessment, compared to patients with only heart failure.

Researchers found that the severity of fibromyalgia was related to the severity of general health impairment, with more severe fibromyalgia linked to worse physical and mental health.
“This finding highlights the broad and significant effect [fibromyalgia] has on all aspects of well-being,” researchers wrote.

In addition, the team found that all other central sensitivity diseases investigated, including temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, irritable bowel disease (IBD), headache, and chemical sensitivity were more common in people with both heart failure and fibromyalgia.

The results support the idea that fibromyalgia is caused by an increased central nervous system sensitivity, researchers said.

They now hope that the recognition of fibromyalgia in patients with heart failure may lead to better outcomes for these patients.

I leave you with some closing thoughts.  My doctor did not order my recent tests because he noticed a heart irregularity from my office visit.  

I went into this visit noticing and voicing that my heart palpitations seemed to be coming more frequent.  I expressed this to him immediately when he first sat down.  He quickly went to my patient file and noted it had been sometime since my last full lab workup concerning heart issues.  His response was, "Hmmmm..... let's get you another set of referrals to see what's going on and to be on the safe side." This was due to the fact I expressed to him my concern over the recent article I posted titled "Fibromyalgia Often Exists with Other Diseases".

Doctors are not magicians.  They can't always accurately diagnose your list of symptomologies without input from you.  Don't assume because you've been told, "It is probably the fibromyalgia that's causing this...." as full credit.  Do your research, know your body, and keep questioning.  At all costs, keep questioning - it could save your life.