Engaging in a mere five-minute daily fitness routine, termed as "strength training for your breathing muscles," can significantly lower blood pressure and enhance certain vascular health indicators. This is equally or even more effective than aerobic workouts or medicines, according to fresh research from University of Colorado Boulder. Sid Garza-Hillman, Wellness Director for California, luxury, plant-based eco-resort The Stanford Inn along the Mendocino Coast joins hosts Kym McNicholas and Dr. John Phillips to share the evolution of eco-tourism with an increased focus on improving your mind, body, and spirit while reducing your carbon footprint on vacation. Sid walks us through a powerful breathing exercise and offers new insights into the latest research on eating vegan, but healthy.

Chronic illnesses can be classified under multiple umbrellas. But allergies are only official classified as an immune disorder. Should allergies be classified as a blood disorder as the histamine response occurs in the blood stream? Histamine is the chemical that is found in mast cells. When they leave the mast cells,histamines boost blood flow in the area of your body the allergen affected which can lead to certain symptoms depending on the part of the body where the histamine release occurs. For some it can lead to significant heart palpitations and anaphylactic shock, which can impact the circulatory system. In this episode Nurse Janara Iman-Thomas is going to talk about how pollens and foods get into the blood stream to cause allergies. She will share her passion for helping patients diagnose these allergies and prevent them from overburdening the immune system and reduce the inflammatory response in our bodies.
⦁    What are allergies. a histamine response in your blood.
    - Once in blood stream – body knows what belongs there...
    - Things that shouldn’t belong there... it has an immune response
    - Body creates an antibody against those things....
    - Sends out a little army of histamines and says attack.
    - If it’s the first time... then your immune system handles ok.
    - Then the next time it sees it – it is going to attack bigger.
    - Building up a response to the point where you start having symptoms.
    - It means your immune system is functioning, but overload.
    - That’s where severe allergies happen.
⦁    How can allergies impact your cardiovascular system. Heart palpitations, high blood pressure, lack of oxygen in the blood
⦁    What are the different types of allergies - inhalants vs foods
    - let's talk about how they each get into the bloodstream
⦁    How do allergies occur? how do they evolve over time.
    - many want to know in detail how they go from a tree and mold or plant to food you eat
⦁    Advances in diagnosis
⦁    Advances in treatments

Cardiovascular diseases and allergic diseases occur commonly in developed countries. They lead to serious health complications and significantly impair the quality of life. Both types of diseases are characterized by excessive inflammatory processes. Recent studies suggest a link between allergy and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, resulting from over activity of the immune system in allergic diseases and increased synthesis of pro-inflammatory mediators, which has been well documented in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.Data from the National Health Interview Survey demonstrated adults with a history of allergic disorders have an increased risk of high blood pressure and coronary heart disease, with the highest risk seen in Black male adults. The study is being presented at ACC Asia 2022 Together with the Korean Society of Cardiology Spring Conference on April 15-16, 2022."For patients with allergic disorders, routine evaluation of blood pressure and routine examination for coronary heart disease should be given by clinicians to ensure early treatments are given to those with hypertension or coronary heart disease," said Yang Guo, PhD, Department of Dermatology at the Institute of Dermatology at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen Peking University-The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Medical Center, and the study's lead author.

Once a procedure is performed to improve blood flow in the legs for a circulation issue known as Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), it starts the clock for the next one. PAD is a progressive disease in which the best treatment lay in patient compliance to appropriate medications and lifestyle modifications, including smoking cessation, diet, and diabetes management. That's why Interventional Cardiologists Dr. John Phillips and Dr. Ashish Gupta discuss the importance of ensuring all conservative options are exhausted prior to any attempt to restore blood flow manually using wires, balloons, and stents, or bypass. If conservative approaches aren't enough to relieve pain, cramping, or help heal a wound that has developed on the toe or foot, they say it's at that point guidelines indicate an intervention or bypass may be necessary. But it's important to have all risk factors mitigated prior to a procedure in order to extend its durability and time before another procedure may need to be performed again. This discussion comes on the heels of recent string of patients with moderate PAD presenting to patient advocacy organization The Way To My Heart with intervention and bypass surgery as frontline treatment prior to frontline treatment of medication and lifestyle modifications as per guidelines set forth by the Society for Vascular Surgery and American Heart Association.

Getting diagnosed with a constriction or blockage in the arteries that supply blood to your brain can be quite daunting, as Nancy from South Carolina can confirm. She discovered she had carotid artery disease,which put her in danger of having a stroke. The carotid arteries, one on each side of the neck, are crucial blood vessels that provide blood to the brain, neck, and face. About one-third of all stroke cases are associated with diseased carotids. This disease arises when fatty residues, known as plaque, accumulate in these arteries. Alarmingly, in its initial stages, this disease often goes unnoticed due to a lack of symptoms. It only becomes noticeable when it becomes severe enough to deprive the brain of oxygen, resulting in a stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA). Lucky for Nancy, she discovered her condition early as she was under close observation following a heart attack. During a routine medical examination, a Physician Assistant detected a bruit, a turbulent flow in her neck arteries, using a stethoscope. In today's episode, Nancy shares her journey from diagnosis to receiving advanced treatment. Also joining us is the globally recognized Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Ehrin Armstrong, who discusses treatment guidelines and ongoing debates that could alter how and when doctors can offer more than just medication to enhance blood flow and avoid severe complications.

Deidre Arms, a medical professional specializing in women's health, was an energetic 46-year-old who cycled up to 32 miles a day. Despite her family's medical history, she believed her medical knowledge,passion for nutritious diet and supplements, and commitment to exercise were adequate in reducing her chances of suffering a stroke or heart attack. However, her cycling endurance suddenly plummeted, leaving her feeling easily worn out and short of breath. Medical professionals dismissed her symptoms as possibly adult-onset asthma.Two years later she suffered a heart attack. It was then that she encountered Dr. John Phillips, an Interventional Cardiologist and co-host of The Heart of Innovation. He guided her onto a path that not only saved her life but also led her to find her true life's calling: to educate, treat, and inspire others to enhance their cardiac health. Deidre shares her astonishing two-year struggle to make her doctors understand her situation and how she used this ordeal as a catalyst to prevent similar experiences for others