Do This and STOP Deadly Heart Attacks

Everywhere we turn, we hear about how heart disease is America’s number-one killer.

But ask your doctor how to avoid heart problems, and what will he tell you?

He’ll say you should avoid unhealthy foods and exercise more.

Not bad advice… but there’s a MAJOR risk to your heart that NOBODY ever talks about. 

And it can determine whether you suffer a massive, life-threatening heart attack… or not. 

For years, researchers have realized that parts of the world that get more sun tend to have less multiple sclerosis.  

Now, studies are uncovering that spending time in the sun can reduce your risk of something just as devastating—but far more deadly:

Massive heart attacks.

A massive heart attack is the most serious kind because it occurs when an artery becomes completely blocked, preventing blood from getting to the heart, and causing it to immediately start to die. (The scientific name for it is a ST-elevation myocardial infarction, or STEMI.)

There are about 250,000 massive heart attacks every year in the U.S. alone.

Mounting evidence is showing that these massive attacks occur in seasonal patterns: 

• There are far more attacks in the winter than in the summer.

• In the summer, attacks are more likely to happen at night than during the day.

In other words, lack of sunlight seems to be a trigger for these deadly massive heart attacks.

What this study doesn’t look into is the why—but previous research gives us insight into that important question.

Exposure to sunlight has been shown to reduce blood pressure—a key risk factor for heart attack and stroke. It works by increasing nitric oxide, an important signaling molecule that helps blood vessels relax and dilate.

Your skin has a lot of nitric oxide, and when it is exposed to UVA from the sun, it gets transferred from the skin into circulation.

Interestingly, many of the studies showing a connection between sunshine and heart health show that it happens independently from vitamin D. That’s because the radiation emitted from the sun is crucial for regulating so many processes in the body that are vital for overall good health and longevity.

Just another reason to make sure you’re spending time outside every day.

I know I am!

To a brighter day,

Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D.