The ticking of a
clock, waves on a shore,
00:00:16.68\00:00:20.68
the cycle of night and day,
00:00:20.72\00:00:22.18
even the
seasons create a rhythm.
00:00:22.22\00:00:25.42
I call it the rhythm of life.
00:00:25.45\00:00:27.59
Your heart needs
rhythm too. Stay tuned...
00:00:27.62\00:00:30.83
I'm Dr. James
Marcum, are you interested in
00:00:31.23\00:00:34.56
discovering the reason why?
00:00:34.60\00:00:36.50
Do you want solutions to
your health care problem?
00:00:36.53\00:00:39.50
Are you tired of
taking medications?
00:00:39.53\00:00:42.27
Well, you're about to be given
the "Ultimate Prescription"
00:00:42.30\00:00:46.31
One of the first medical
skills I learned as a child was
00:00:47.81\00:00:50.61
to find my heart rhythm.
00:00:50.65\00:00:52.25
I checked my neck or
my wrist and, of course,
00:00:52.28\00:00:55.45
I had to check
everyone else's neck and wrist
00:00:55.48\00:00:57.39
even the dog's.
00:00:57.42\00:00:58.75
Each time I did, I'd offer
my diagnosis, "You're alive!"
00:00:58.79\00:01:02.36
I'd say with genuine joy.
00:01:02.39\00:01:04.36
There's something reassuring
abut that steady thump,
00:01:04.39\00:01:07.00
thump, thump of our heart,
but steady isn't guaranteed.
00:01:07.03\00:01:11.70
You can damage the
rhythm, and when we do,
00:01:11.73\00:01:15.44
watch out!
00:01:15.47\00:01:16.91
Dr. Marcum, I've got
some questions from the
00:01:16.94\00:01:18.64
heartwiseministries.org
website for you today.
00:01:18.67\00:01:21.28
Are you ready to
make some diagnoses?
00:01:21.31\00:01:22.64
Well yeah, Charles,
I am, but first of all,
00:01:22.68\00:01:25.61
I think that what you
said earlier is a great skill,
00:01:25.65\00:01:28.25
so let's teach everyone in
our listening audience how to
00:01:28.28\00:01:31.15
sort of check their rhythm
00:01:31.19\00:01:32.52
of the heart.
Well let's do it, yes!
00:01:32.55\00:01:33.89
Some people might not
know how to do it. Yes
00:01:33.92\00:01:35.26
Well, one of the
easiest ways to do it is to put
00:01:35.29\00:01:38.23
your fingers below your
thumb and feel that steady beat.
00:01:38.26\00:01:43.63
After a while, that's your
radial artery beating, okay,
00:01:43.67\00:01:47.90
and what happens is
the heart pumps and then
00:01:47.94\00:01:50.97
blood moves throughout the body.
00:01:51.01\00:01:52.34
You can check it
other places too. Yes
00:01:52.37\00:01:54.01
Anyplace you feel
a pulse and rhythm.
00:01:54.04\00:01:55.78
And what you want to do
is hold your finger over that
00:01:55.81\00:01:58.31
and, first of all, see if
it's regular, if it's a regular
00:01:58.35\00:02:01.42
pattern or jumping all around.
00:02:01.45\00:02:04.02
It's regular, regular.
Good, it's regular. Yeah
00:02:04.05\00:02:05.92
And the next thing I do
is I count for 15 seconds,
00:02:05.95\00:02:09.92
and then multiple it by 4. Okay
00:02:09.96\00:02:12.89
And, you know, an
average heartbeat,
00:02:12.93\00:02:14.73
if you're a great
athlete, your heart might
00:02:14.76\00:02:16.87
be running in the 40s.
00:02:16.90\00:02:18.90
If you're sick and
you need it to go faster,
00:02:18.93\00:02:21.47
it might run as much as
120, but the first thing is
00:02:21.50\00:02:24.21
you want to make sure
it's regular, a regular rhythm,
00:02:24.24\00:02:27.48
and then you'll want to
see how fast it's running... 60
00:02:27.51\00:02:30.21
That's a normal
heartbeat and it's regular,
00:02:30.25\00:02:33.58
so I would say your
rhythm is stable. Good
00:02:33.62\00:02:35.78
Now sometimes the rhythm might
feel like it's doing like this,
00:02:35.82\00:02:39.42
jumping around... that's
an abnormal rhythm usually
00:02:39.45\00:02:42.86
from the top of the
heart because you can feel it.
00:02:42.89\00:02:45.09
That means when you can feel
it, that means blood pressure
00:02:45.13\00:02:47.40
is still going out
throughout your body. Right
00:02:47.43\00:02:50.80
And if it feels
irregular, there are several
00:02:50.83\00:02:52.70
different types
of rhythms it can be.
00:02:52.73\00:02:55.40
Sometimes it's
irregularly irregular,
00:02:55.44\00:02:57.97
we call that one
atrial fibrillation. Yes
00:02:58.01\00:03:00.51
Sometimes it's just fast
and just a straight fast one
00:03:00.54\00:03:03.65
can be a normal fast rhythm;
00:03:03.68\00:03:05.41
it could be one
called "atrial flutter;"
00:03:05.45\00:03:07.85
it could be one called
"supraventricular tachycardia."
00:03:07.88\00:03:11.19
Sometimes you have a
normal beat and then you feel
00:03:11.22\00:03:13.62
sort of a skipped beat. Yes
00:03:13.66\00:03:15.06
We call that a "premature atrial
atrial or premature ventricular
00:03:15.09\00:03:19.03
contraction."
00:03:19.06\00:03:20.40
Those are rhythms usually
that you feel in your wrist
00:03:20.43\00:03:23.23
come from the top
part of your heart.
00:03:23.26\00:03:25.17
The bottom part of your
heart is not supposed to
00:03:25.20\00:03:27.04
generate rhythms -
it's bad when that happens.
00:03:27.07\00:03:30.24
When that happens,
there's something serious wrong,
00:03:30.27\00:03:32.77
and usually you lose
blood pressure and pass out.
00:03:32.81\00:03:35.38
So usually those type of
rhythms, you just hit the floor.
00:03:35.41\00:03:38.11
And hopefully, you
have someone that can come
00:03:38.15\00:03:39.61
with a defibrillator and
shock you very, very quickly.
00:03:39.65\00:03:42.72
So these are some
simple things you can do...
00:03:42.75\00:03:45.02
if you have rhythm problems
just measure your heart rate
00:03:45.05\00:03:47.39
and see how fast it's going.
00:03:47.42\00:03:48.76
Of course when it goes
real fast and regular 120-130,
00:03:48.79\00:03:53.33
the first things I think
about.. is there some stress
00:03:53.36\00:03:55.76
on the body? You
know, did they just
00:03:55.80\00:03:57.27
finish running?
00:03:57.30\00:03:58.63
Do they have an
infection? Are they having pain?
00:03:58.67\00:04:01.27
Are they losing blood?
00:04:01.30\00:04:02.64
A very fast
heartbeat is a symptom to me
00:04:02.67\00:04:05.57
that the body is
under some type of stress,
00:04:05.61\00:04:08.31
and I have to find out
what that is and that stress
00:04:08.34\00:04:10.55
might be from yelling
and having an argument.
00:04:10.58\00:04:12.35
See, I'm not letting...
no, I'm not letting you
00:04:12.38\00:04:13.98
scare me this time...
I've been waiting for that!
00:04:14.02\00:04:16.25
I knew you were going to try...
00:04:16.28\00:04:17.62
Or it might be from
having pain, boom-boom-boom!
00:04:17.65\00:04:19.79
Or it might be
something like a disease;
00:04:19.82\00:04:21.96
you might be losing
blood, you might have a fever,
00:04:21.99\00:04:24.66
you might have some type
of other problem going on.
00:04:24.69\00:04:26.86
You break your leg, your heart
00:04:26.90\00:04:28.23
is going to go
fast, that's pain. Yes
00:04:28.26\00:04:29.60
The chemical that does
that, we've talked about before,
00:04:29.63\00:04:32.43
that's adrenalin - epinephrine.
00:04:32.47\00:04:34.44
That not only makes your heart
go faster, but it makes your
00:04:34.47\00:04:36.71
blood vessels constrict to
help deal with disaster to get
00:04:36.74\00:04:40.11
blood where it
needs to be if it worsens.
00:04:40.14\00:04:41.64
And pain can
cause that reaction. Yes
00:04:41.68\00:04:43.38
Pain can cause that and
anything that puts stress
00:04:43.41\00:04:46.28
on the body makes the
stress chemicals to go up
00:04:46.31\00:04:49.45
which can actually
speed up your heart.
00:04:49.48\00:04:51.85
And, hopefully, these
wires do what they should
00:04:51.89\00:04:54.22
and there's symmetry
behind it, but sometimes
00:04:54.26\00:04:56.83
there's not a symmetry;
sometimes when we get older,
00:04:56.86\00:04:59.06
it goes too slow and
it doesn't ever speed up.
00:04:59.09\00:05:01.86
Now that's sort of the battery,
the wires sort of getting old,
00:05:01.90\00:05:04.43
you know, like
a car battery. Yes
00:05:04.47\00:05:05.93
Every so often the car
battery runs out of juice,
00:05:05.97\00:05:08.40
the car can't get going.
00:05:08.44\00:05:09.77
Well that can
happen within the heart.
00:05:09.80\00:05:11.14
The problem is, with the
electrical system of the heart,
00:05:11.17\00:05:14.08
is the electrical system causes
the heart to squeeze and pump,
00:05:14.11\00:05:17.15
and it pumps life-giving
blood with oxygen and nutrients
00:05:17.18\00:05:21.28
throughout the body.
00:05:21.32\00:05:22.65
So it's a very important thing
that we're talking about today
00:05:22.68\00:05:25.35
and everyone out there
should be interested in it
00:05:25.39\00:05:27.49
because everyone has a
rhythm... I hope! Yes exactly!
00:05:27.52\00:05:30.36
If you're not having a
rhythm, we have a problem.
00:05:30.39\00:05:31.96
Let's set a baseline here...
If we are sitting in a chair,
00:05:31.99\00:05:36.46
and we're 20 years old,
and we are just resting in a
00:05:36.50\00:05:39.97
chair - it's in the
evening after a day's work,
00:05:40.00\00:05:41.97
and we're just
relaxing... what should be our
00:05:42.00\00:05:45.34
heart rate at
that time? 20 years old
00:05:45.37\00:05:47.98
If it's a regular one, 40
to 60 would be a good number.
00:05:48.01\00:05:51.38
If you're not in
shape, carry a lot of weight,
00:05:51.41\00:05:53.42
a resting heart rate will be
faster, it might be 70 to 80.
00:05:53.45\00:05:56.92
If a resting heart rate is
above 100, that means something
00:05:56.95\00:05:59.15
probably is not wrong and the
stress, it might be just from
00:05:59.19\00:06:01.92
not exercising or it might
be for something like, you know,
00:06:01.96\00:06:05.03
have extra weight
- that can cause it.
00:06:05.06\00:06:06.73
Certain stimulants can
cause your heart to go faster.
00:06:06.76\00:06:09.16
The most common ones
are caffeine is a stimulant,
00:06:09.20\00:06:11.90
and nowadays
believe it or not, Charles,
00:06:11.93\00:06:13.97
a lot of people
drink energy drinks. Yes
00:06:14.00\00:06:17.34
I went into the store the
other day and there were some
00:06:17.37\00:06:19.24
teenagers at this
7-Eleven that I was at,
00:06:19.27\00:06:21.58
and they went right up,
it was before school started,
00:06:21.61\00:06:23.91
and they got 3 or 4 of these
little bottles and they drank
00:06:23.95\00:06:26.45
it down and that will
speed up your heart too.
00:06:26.48\00:06:29.12
Over-the-counter cold
medications have substances
00:06:29.15\00:06:31.65
that speed up your heart rate.
00:06:31.69\00:06:33.02
Now when you speed
up your heart like that,
00:06:33.05\00:06:34.39
does your body respond
by giving you more energy
00:06:34.42\00:06:36.39
or is it artificially...
Artificial! Really?
00:06:36.42\00:06:38.96
There's nothing real about it.
00:06:38.99\00:06:40.70
You know, I can make your heart
00:06:40.73\00:06:42.06
go fast too if I bang
you on the head all day. Yes
00:06:42.10\00:06:44.83
That's not a good thing to do.
00:06:44.87\00:06:46.74
So the heart goes
fast for reasons. Yes
00:06:46.77\00:06:50.57
And you want it to be
for the right reasons,
00:06:50.61\00:06:52.47
and other than that, you don't
want your heart to go fast,
00:06:52.51\00:06:54.74
you want it to keep a nice
slow rate to keep you at rest.
00:06:54.78\00:06:57.15
The heart has to rest too,
it can't go fast all the time,
00:06:57.18\00:07:00.25
and that's why it's so important
that when we're under stressful
00:07:00.28\00:07:03.05
situations, that we
also have times of rest.
00:07:03.08\00:07:06.29
And we've talked about
this before, this world is so
00:07:06.32\00:07:08.82
stressful, the
rhythm needs to rest too,
00:07:08.86\00:07:11.19
the heart needs to rest,
our body needs to have to rest.
00:07:11.23\00:07:13.96
So part of a good rest is
having the heart slow down.
00:07:14.00\00:07:17.27
Now let's take that same
20-year-old and let's add
00:07:17.30\00:07:19.50
40 years to him and
now we have a 60-year-old
00:07:19.53\00:07:21.54
or 70-year-old sitting in that
chair after his day at work,
00:07:21.57\00:07:24.17
should there be a
different rate or does it...
00:07:24.21\00:07:26.21
It's according to their
overall physiology. Okay
00:07:26.24\00:07:29.08
If they're an exerciser, usually
it starts staying the same.
00:07:29.11\00:07:31.75
Now as we get older, usually
the rhythms of the heart,
00:07:31.78\00:07:35.28
if the conduction
system slows down,
00:07:35.32\00:07:37.05
usually it goes a
little bit slower. Okay
00:07:37.09\00:07:38.95
But for athletes and someone
that's in great physical shape,
00:07:38.99\00:07:41.82
the heart is going to go slower
00:07:41.86\00:07:43.29
because it works
more efficiently. Oh okay
00:07:43.32\00:07:45.16
A person that's in
less physical shape,
00:07:45.19\00:07:47.13
the heart tends to run faster.
00:07:47.16\00:07:49.00
So if you want to
check your physical fitness,
00:07:49.03\00:07:51.63
here's something
I do quite a bit,
00:07:51.67\00:07:53.00
you know, people that want
to start exercise programs,
00:07:53.03\00:07:55.24
and we check the
rhythm of the heart,
00:07:55.27\00:07:56.71
I'd say, "Well listen,
measure your resting heart rate
00:07:56.74\00:07:59.17
before your exercise
program and after 4 weeks,
00:07:59.21\00:08:02.31
and you watch and it
gradually slows down,
00:08:02.34\00:08:04.61
that means you're helping
your cardiovascular system
00:08:04.65\00:08:06.85
out, you're lowering the
stress chemistry of the body."
00:08:06.88\00:08:09.82
You see how this
stress thing works...
00:08:09.85\00:08:11.79
You lower the stress chemistry,
you turn on other nerves.
00:08:11.82\00:08:14.69
The parasympathetic
which is the opposite of the
00:08:14.72\00:08:17.19
stress system in the
body, that's the rest system
00:08:17.23\00:08:19.69
in the body because God
sort of made us to work hard
00:08:19.73\00:08:22.70
and to rest, that gets
activated more and your body
00:08:22.73\00:08:25.83
has a greater chance to
heal and rest to feel better.
00:08:25.87\00:08:28.87
Now let's talk about the
other end of this thing...
00:08:28.90\00:08:30.61
How fast should our heart go?
00:08:30.64\00:08:32.91
What is the range of
exercise, running up the stairs
00:08:32.94\00:08:36.34
or being chased by a
tiger, is there a top limit?
00:08:36.38\00:08:39.88
There is and sort of
the generalized standard,
00:08:39.91\00:08:42.45
if you take 220
minus your age, okay
00:08:42.48\00:08:48.72
that's about the fastest a
heart can go on a general rule.
00:08:48.76\00:08:53.09
So let's say you're 60
years old, so 220 minus 60
00:08:53.13\00:08:57.67
and that's about how
fast your heart would go...
00:08:57.70\00:09:01.47
the fastest under
a normal situation.
00:09:01.50\00:09:04.47
A normal stressful
situation, it can go that fast
00:09:04.51\00:09:07.01
to meet the
metabolic needs of your body
00:09:07.04\00:09:09.28
when it's under that amount
of stress. All right, very good.
00:09:09.31\00:09:11.31
And hopefully it's not under
00:09:11.35\00:09:12.68
that amount of
stress a whole lot.
00:09:12.71\00:09:14.08
For instance, you know,
like a 20-year-old, so sometimes
00:09:14.12\00:09:16.48
they can go up to 200
on a 20-year-old. Yeah
00:09:16.52\00:09:18.69
So the rhythms are
very important of the heart,
00:09:18.72\00:09:21.06
but usually rhythms
mean different things.
00:09:21.09\00:09:24.19
But I think that thing is great.
00:09:24.23\00:09:25.59
You know, when I feel
bad, we frequently, I check
00:09:25.63\00:09:29.06
my heart rhythm to just
make sure it's a regular rhythm
00:09:29.10\00:09:31.40
because I can rule out a
slow heart beat if I'm not
00:09:31.43\00:09:34.00
racing away against, oh
probably not infection...
00:09:34.04\00:09:36.37
Because a slow beat or a
fast beat can cause other types
00:09:36.40\00:09:39.47
of symptoms in you that may not
be connected to something else.
00:09:39.51\00:09:42.11
It's just because of
the heart working... Right
00:09:42.14\00:09:43.68
And any time, when
you're really, really sick,
00:09:43.75\00:09:45.21
the heart is going to respond.
00:09:45.28\00:09:46.61
Your body is going to respond
by usually a fast heart rate.
00:09:46.65\00:09:49.18
So if I feel bad and
like I'm sick at my stomach
00:09:49.22\00:09:51.82
or I'm worried about something
and I put this and my heart
00:09:51.85\00:09:53.89
still going at
60 beats per minute,
00:09:53.92\00:09:56.32
I can probably notice
that there's not something
00:09:56.36\00:09:58.33
serious going on. Okay
00:09:58.36\00:09:59.69
But I feel bad and
my heart is going 120,
00:09:59.73\00:10:02.63
I go "uh oh," my body is
under stress, it's trying to
00:10:02.66\00:10:06.00
fix something that going on.
00:10:06.03\00:10:07.37
I might be sick, I
might want to see somebody.
00:10:07.40\00:10:10.01
You know, I might
want to do something.
00:10:10.04\00:10:11.47
I want to make
sure I'm not dehydrated,
00:10:11.51\00:10:13.51
and my blood
sugar is not too low,
00:10:13.54\00:10:14.98
something else is stressing my
body, I don't have an infection,
00:10:15.01\00:10:17.75
I don't have pain or something
else that's doing it. Okay
00:10:17.78\00:10:20.22
So this is a very useful
biometric to check on the body.
00:10:20.25\00:10:24.35
Well we have a good
baseline now for both
00:10:24.39\00:10:26.89
how fast and how
slow it should be going
00:10:26.92\00:10:28.82
under normal
circumstances and that's good.
00:10:28.86\00:10:31.36
All right, let's get
some questions here from the
00:10:31.39\00:10:33.73
heartwiseministries.org
website...
00:10:33.76\00:10:35.53
"What is normally
prescribed for a person with
00:10:35.56\00:10:37.90
atrial fibrillation."
00:10:37.93\00:10:39.47
What are you prescribing?
00:10:39.50\00:10:41.00
Is there anything they can
do naturally with this? Yeah
00:10:41.04\00:10:42.50
And atrial fibrillation is
the most common abnormal rhythm
00:10:42.54\00:10:46.27
that I see in
the office every day.
00:10:46.31\00:10:48.14
And that is the top part is
irregular, an irregular rhythm
00:10:48.18\00:10:53.18
and it goes really fast in the
bottom part because all these
00:10:53.21\00:10:55.88
signals come down
irregularly goes fast too.
00:10:55.92\00:10:58.65
It's called "atrial"
because it comes from the top.
00:10:58.69\00:11:00.96
"Fibrillation" because
the top part is fibrillating.
00:11:00.99\00:11:02.99
Are they in sync
with each other? No
00:11:03.02\00:11:04.63
Oh they are not in
sync with each other.
00:11:04.66\00:11:05.99
No, so this one is going
this fast and all these signals
00:11:06.03\00:11:07.63
coming through - there
might be 300-400 signals coming
00:11:07.66\00:11:10.57
through - only a certain
amount will get through like 180
00:11:10.60\00:11:12.97
will get through, so the
bottom part goes faster too.
00:11:13.00\00:11:15.47
And it's a very
discomforting rhythm...
00:11:15.50\00:11:17.91
A person might feel
their heart pounding,
00:11:17.94\00:11:19.64
they might get dizzy,
they might get short of breath.
00:11:19.67\00:11:22.01
It's estimated that 10%
of older people have this.
00:11:22.04\00:11:25.45
One in 3 strokes come
from it, so the real solution
00:11:25.48\00:11:29.12
is finding out what's
causing that to happen.
00:11:29.15\00:11:31.12
If you can find out what
is causing that, that's great.
00:11:31.15\00:11:33.66
Lots of things can cause that.
00:11:33.69\00:11:35.36
Anything from thyroid to
genetics, to bad heart, to heart
00:11:35.39\00:11:38.43
attack, to stress, to
stimulants, there's a big list.
00:11:38.49\00:11:41.50
The first thing we do is
try to find out the cause;
00:11:41.53\00:11:43.87
we slow the heart rate
down so they don't feel so bad,
00:11:43.90\00:11:46.90
and then we have to
address the blood-thing issue.
00:11:46.94\00:11:49.17
And then after that, we
use a bunch of medicines
00:11:49.20\00:11:51.07
to slow it down and
we can also talk about
00:11:51.11\00:11:52.84
whether we want to put the heart
back in rhythm with a shock.
00:11:52.87\00:11:54.74
There's some fancy procedures
we can do, fancy medicines
00:11:55.68\00:11:58.41
to sort of maintain rhythm,
but all those things have risk.
00:11:58.45\00:12:01.55
Sometimes we can even
go up inside the heart
00:12:01.58\00:12:03.59
and destroy that
rhythm if we need to...
00:12:03.62\00:12:06.05
But it's all really
according to the cause.
00:12:06.09\00:12:08.32
I had a person that
the cause was sleep apnea.
00:12:08.36\00:12:11.03
They wore the
sleep mask at night,
00:12:11.06\00:12:12.66
and their heart rhythm
became much easier to control.
00:12:12.69\00:12:15.73
So that's a very good question
so prescribe for a person
00:12:15.76\00:12:18.57
with sleep apnea...
medicines to slow it down,
00:12:18.60\00:12:20.44
keep it in rhythm and
probably blood thinners
00:12:20.47\00:12:22.70
until we can find
out what is causing it.
00:12:22.74\00:12:24.47
If we can figure
out what's causing it,
00:12:24.51\00:12:26.24
then they might not need to
take these medicines long-term.
00:12:26.27\00:12:28.68
And quickly, what are some of
the causes that could be again?
00:12:28.71\00:12:30.95
Oh, thyroid, any type of
stress, bad heart, dehydration,
00:12:30.98\00:12:36.69
genetics can cause it, high
blood pressure, valvular heart
00:12:36.72\00:12:39.85
disease, lots of
different things can cause it.
00:12:39.89\00:12:42.12
All right, well very good.
00:12:42.16\00:12:43.49
We're going to take a short
break and when we come back,
00:12:43.53\00:12:44.96
more questions from
heartwiseministries.org website.
00:12:44.99\00:12:47.36
It's so important that
we know about our heart,
00:12:47.40\00:12:49.33
that we understand what is
normal and what isn't because
00:12:49.36\00:12:52.33
we only have one heart and
if that heart goes, so do we.
00:12:52.37\00:12:55.30
We'll take a short
break and when we come back
00:12:55.34\00:12:56.97
more questions and a Bible
text for today, so stay tuned.
00:12:57.01\00:13:00.88