- Does your chest feel tight and short of breath? A warning from coronary arteries
- The real reason blood vessels narrow: The secret of inflammation and endothelial cells
- 3 key anti-cholesterol strategies that help vasodilation
- 24-hour practice routine to widen blood vessels starting today
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Conclusion & Next Actions
1️⃣ Does your chest feel tight and short of breath? A warning from coronary arteries
Have you ever felt a stiff or crushing pain in the middle of your chest after just climbing a few stairs? Or have you ever lost sleep at night due to a tingling sensation radiating to your left shoulder or jaw for no reason? It might be too serious to just dismiss it as "it must be because I'm getting older," as your coronary arteries surrounding your heart might be screaming "Please give me oxygen." Poor blood circulation causing cold hands and feet and suffering from chronic fatigue are not simple poor conditions, but clear signals that the inside of your blood vessels is narrowing.
If these signals are continuously neglected, the narrowed blood vessels will eventually become completely blocked, which can lead to irreversible fatal consequences such as myocardial infarction or angina. A sudden cardiac arrest can shake the lives of not only you but also your entire family.
But you don't have to be just afraid. Our body's blood vessels have amazing resilience. If you stimulate endothelial cells to dilate blood vessels and manage cholesterol that makes blood sticky even now, you can widen the narrowed paths again and regain a vigorously beating heart.
2️⃣ The real reason blood vessels narrow: The secret of inflammation and endothelial cells
Many people understand the cause of coronary artery disease simply as 'eating a lot of fatty food caused grime to build up in blood vessels'. However, the fundamental cause lies in the deterioration of the function of 'endothelial cells (Endothelium)' coating the very inside of blood vessels. High blood pressure, high blood sugar, smoking, and stress inflict wounds on endothelial cells and induce inflammation. Cholesterol (LDL) penetrates the wounded area and oxidizes, and immune cells trying to process it get tangled together to form lumps called 'Plaque', making blood vessels narrow.
If your cholesterol level hasn't been controlled even though you've been only focusing on 'reducing fat intake', you need to change your approach. You need to move away from passive defense of simply eating less bad things and towards active attack (management) of activating endothelial cells to make blood vessels themselves flexible and dilate them. This article presents a new perspective focusing on the generation of 'Nitric Oxide', a substance that dilates blood vessels on its own.
- Importance of Nitric Oxide (NO) — A key substance generated in endothelial cells that relaxes and dilates vascular muscles to lower blood pressure and increase blood flow.
- Oxidized LDL, scarier than LDL — The key is to prevent 'oxidized' cholesterol that sticks to blood vessel walls and causes inflammation, rather than the cholesterol level itself.
- Recovery of vascular elasticity — Making hardened blood vessels (arteriosclerosis) soft again is the beginning and end of coronary artery disease prevention.
3️⃣ 3 key anti-cholesterol strategies that help vasodilation
1. Nitric Oxide Booster Diet
This is a strategy of consuming vegetables rich in nitrates like beets, spinach, and arugula, and foods containing arginine. These foods are converted into nitric oxide, a powerful vasodilator, in the body. A scientific mechanism has been proven to induce vasodilation within hours after ingestion, lowering blood pressure and improving blood flow speed. Just drinking beet juice on an empty stomach in the morning or adding a handful of green leafy vegetables to every meal can open up the airways of your blood vessels.
2. Dual Defense of Soluble Fiber and Omega-3
This is a combination specialized in discharging bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides already floating in the blood. Soluble fiber rich in oats, barley, and apples turns into a gel form in the intestine, adsorbing cholesterol and discharging it through stool. At the same time, omega-3 fatty acids in blue-backed fish or perilla oil lower blood viscosity and inhibit thrombus (blood clot) formation. If fiber is a 'cleaner', omega-3 acts as a 'lubricant' that prevents blood from hardening, creating a synergy effect.
3. Zone 2 Aerobic Exercise
This is moderate-intensity aerobic exercise where you can have a conversation with the person next to you but find it difficult to sing. It restores the function of endothelial cells through continuous blood flow stimulation without making the heart beat excessively. You can see immediate vasodilation effect right after exercise, and in the long term, it generates new capillaries. It is suitable for middle-aged people who feel burdened by strenuous running, and accessibility is very high as just 30 minutes of brisk walking a day is enough to practice.
4️⃣ 24-hour practice routine to widen blood vessels starting today
- Immediately after waking up (6-7 AM) This is the time when blood is stickiest as moisture drains out during sleep. Slowly drink 1-2 glasses of lukewarm water to lower blood viscosity and wake up circulation. Stretching is better than sudden exercise as this is the time when the risk of myocardial infarction is highest.
- Meal (Every meal) Practice 'Reducing Carbohydrates (Rice/Bread/Noodles)' and 'Eating Vegetables First'. Blood sugar spikes are the main culprit attacking endothelial cells. Eat raw vegetables or herbs before eating rice to make the blood sugar rise moderate.
- After dinner (7-8 PM) 30 minutes after a meal, do 'Brisk Walking' for 20-40 minutes. It burns the triglyceride levels raised by the meal and maximizes nitric oxide generation to prevent blood vessels from narrowing overnight. The habit of walking around the neighborhood rather than lying down watching TV protects coronary arteries.
⏳ If you consistently maintain this routine for about 3 weeks, you can experience changes such as your head becoming clearer when you wake up in the morning and reduced numbness in your hands and feet.
2️⃣ Advanced Information: Seeing through vascular health beyond numbers
Don't be overly concerned with only the number (total cholesterol) on the health checkup sheet. True coronary artery disease prevention starts with understanding inflammation reactions and hormone balance occurring inside my body. We summarize advanced concepts you must know even if you are undergoing drug treatment parallelly.
TG/HDL Ratio (Triglyceride to High-Density Cholesterol Ratio)
It is an indicator with much higher predictability for cardiovascular disease than simply looking at LDL levels. It is a healthy state if the value obtained by dividing triglyceride (TG) level by HDL level is 2.0 or less (ideally around 1.0). If this ratio is high, it means LDL particles become small and dense (Small Dense LDL) and penetrate blood vessel walls more easily.
Why you need to manage this ratio
Even if the LDL level is normal, if the TG/HDL ratio is high, the risk of coronary artery disease is still high. Reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing aerobic exercise is the fastest way to improve this ratio.
Chronic stress and the vicious cycle of vasoconstriction
Even if diet and exercise are perfect, if stress is not managed, the effect is halved. Cortisol and adrenaline secreted under stress immediately constrict blood vessels and raise blood pressure. Continuous stress can hinder the recovery of endothelial cells and neutralize anti-cholesterol efforts.
Why meditation and deep breathing are vascular medicine
5 minutes of deep abdominal breathing a day activates the parasympathetic nervous system to relax constricted blood vessels. You must remember that mental relaxation is as powerful a vasodilator as physical exercise.
5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
💡 Practical Tip
Try a half-body bath for 15-20 minutes in water at 38-40 degrees Celsius, 2-3 times a week. As body temperature rises, peripheral blood vessels dilate and blood flow speed increases. However, caution is required as excessively hot water or long bathing can burden the heart, and be sure to replenish moisture with a glass of lukewarm water after finishing.
⚠️ Points to note
If pressure in the center of the chest, cold sweat, and difficulty breathing persist for more than 5 minutes, you must call 119 or go to the emergency room immediately. Many people miss the golden time by delaying time thinking 'it feels like indigestion' and pricking fingers or taking digestive medicine. Suspecting cardiovascular disease is the first step to saving a life.
6️⃣ Healthy blood vessels are not made overnight
Fear of coronary artery disease paradoxically becomes the strongest motivation to start a healthy life. The process of widening narrowed blood vessels again and clearing turbid blood definitely requires time and patience. However, believe that the food you ate today and movement are healing endothelial cells. Your heart is stronger than you think, and our body is ready to recover itself.
Start with the easiest thing you can do right today. Just drinking a glass of water right now and getting up from your seat for a while to stretch has started to improve your blood circulation.
I hope this article has become a small lamp protecting your heart health. If you are curious about more specific diet recipes or exercise methods, I recommend subscribing to related articles or sharing them around to protect health together.
- The key cause of coronary artery disease is 'damage and inflammation of endothelial cells', not simple cholesterol accumulation.
- Vegetable intake and aerobic exercise helping nitric oxide (NO) generation are the most powerful ways to dilate blood vessels naturally.
- Morning water intake, walking after dinner, and carbohydrate control are essential routines anyone can start immediately.
- Do not ignore warning signs like chest pain, and long-term prevention is possible only when stress management and smoking cessation are carried out in parallel.
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