I'm Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum.
I'm the Director of Women's Heart Health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
For many years I've been spokesperson for Go Red For Women through the American Heart
Association, speaking to people across the country about risk factors for heart disease.
And throughout this time I was able to address the major risk factors: high blood pressure,
high cholesterol, diabetes, sedentary lifestyle, family history, and smoking.
But it's been until very recently that we've understood the impact of stress.
Now we all know what the impact of stress...we all have an understanding of how stress affects
us.
Living with that flight or flight response, that increases epinephrin, norepinephrine,
and cholesterol...these are hormones that flow throughout our bodies during that stress
response...it increases blood pressure, they increase cholesterol, and they increase inflammation.
All of these things lead to high blood pressure, lead to plaque in the arteries, and that,
in turn, is what leads to heart disease.
Now that I can address stress as a major risk factor for heart disease, I get to do something
about it.
When I prescribe a statin that can lower cholesterol, I'm happy when I get efficacy of treatment
at about 30%, but now I know when I treat stress with something like TM, I can as much
as a 48% to 66% improvement, with treatment, with TM.
Now what does this mean?
Believe it or not, it wasn't until April 2013 that the American Heart Association made a
scientific statement that Transcendental Meditation was the only form of stress management and
meditation to reduce blood pressure.
It is the most efficacious way for us to treat one of the major risk factors of heart disease,
which is stress.
And now, since the American Heart Association has yes, Transcendental Meditation is something
that we can prescribe to our to our patients, that we can tell our patients they can do
and actually get benefit, I very clearly say to my patients, "Let's treat blood pressure,
let's treat your cholesterol, and let's treat your stress...And the way we're going to treat
it is with TM."
There have been 350 studies and $28 million dollars put towards the research of Transcendental
Meditation and its effects on stress.
We can very confidently say that Transcendental Meditation is something that is important
when we talk about treating heart disease in all people.
Studies have shown that it not only decreases blood pressure, but it helps people who have
heart disease function better, live healthier lives...and it's actually been shown to reduce
strokes, heart attacks, along with high blood pressure.
It is a very effective treatment tool.
Last week I had a patient come in who is being treated for heart disease...he has plaque
in the arteries, he has high cholesterol, he has high blood presses, and he is on medication.
Now this is what I do as a cardiologist...I treat people, and try to prevent them from
getting worse...try to prevent them from having heart attacks and strokes, try to prevent
the disease from taking their lives.
Well here, this gentleman, under so much stress, all of a sudden he started eating, gaining
weight, his blood pressure is going up, his cholesterol is going up, and he comes into
my office...doctor, can you help me?
Well it's very easy for me to take a pen and a prescription pad and write him for higher
doses, give him more medications, but how can I do that without addressing the underlying
problem?
How can I say to him, "I'll just give you more drugs" when the problem comes down to
stress?
I very confidently, very easily said, "We have to take a new approach.
We have to add something to your treatment regimen."
And I recommended Transcendental Meditation.
Because now I will be treating the underlying problem.
It's true that he might need more medication, more doses, we might have to change things
around from the medical perspective, but if I don't prescribe TM, if I don't say, "You
need to address your stress," I'm not being a good doctors, I'm not taking care of him
as a patient.
I believe in it so strongly that about a year ago I started doing it myself...I'm one of
those people who had no time, had too many lists, had lists upon lists, and decided this
couldn't possibly be for me...but I would try because I understand the effects of stress.
And with my mind going in 25 million different directions as I sit down to do TM, all of
a sudden, when the 20 minutes is over, that list is linear, lined up, and I'm ready to
go.
I recommend TM for myself, I recommend it for my patients, and I say it with the backup
of all the studies, all the research, and with the American Heart Association saying
this has been proven to reduce heart disease, stroke, and hypertension.
Thank you so much for joining us today, and if you have any questions, www.TM.org can
answer them.