Taiji Qigong for Relaxation and a Healthy Heart, A Way Forward.

Cardiovascular Disease is the UK’S single largest killer of both men and women. For every 100 people who die each year, forty die from cardiovascular disease – that’s 230,000 lost lives in the UK alone. It is a worrying fact that cardiovascular disease kills more people each year than all types of cancer combined.

The term cardiovascular disease encompasses all disorders of the heart and circulatory system. The most common problem is coronary heart disease, which results from the furring up of the arteries that supply the heart with blood. Deposits of fatty materials known as cholesterol accumulate in the lining of these arteries in a process known as atherosclerosis, which in its turn can lead to chest pain or angina.

Angina, aptly termed "a cry for help from the heart", describes the initial cramping pain in the heart when it doesn't receive enough oxygen-carrying blood. Typically a dull pain or discomfort in the centre of the chest brought on by physical exertion, strong emotion, a heavy meal or cold weather, angina usually subsides when the precipitating action or event ceases. The sensation feels different in different people — common descriptions are "chest tightness", "a heavy weight pressing on my chest" and "a hollow feeling". It can spread to the shoulder, upper arm, jaw or throat — and may be accompanied by sweating, nausea, and shortness of breath or light-headedness. Angina is actually a warning that the coronary arteries are narrow, and if neglected, could well progress to a fatal heart attack.

High Blood Pressure is yet another factor that causes heart disease and the risk of irregularities of the heart beat known as arrhythmias. Due to an ageing population and the rise of the levels of obesity and diabetes, the number of people living with heart disease is on the rise.

At the UKTQF are dedicated to motivating people to change their life styles to take more responsibility for their own health. During 2007 the UKTQF will be concentrating on how to develop an healthy attitude towards the heart in our Healthy Heart Seminars. The seminars will be introducing a set of exercises and concepts which show that correct exercise and correct breathing have a considerable role to play to help mobilise the flow of blood in the body, ensuring a vigorous and healthy circulation. These exercises will can be beneficial for those with heart related problems and will certainly help as a preventative system.

Self-help

If you do prove to have narrowed coronaries, you can help yourself by:

Reducing weight if overweight - this reduces the workload on your heart
Stopping smoking — otherwise your arteries will continue to get narrower
Exercising regularly — because this will improve the blood flow to your heart
Relaxing and cultivating a sense of calm, this has been proven to help reduce episodes of angina.