Article written by Dr. Michelle Strydom MD
(Abnormal Functioning of the Muscle of the Heart)
To understand cardiomyopathy and the spiritual root behind it, it is important for you to first read through the following two chapters which have essential background knowledge:
• “Long Term Effects of Fear, Anxiety and Stress on the Body” on page 180.
• “Genetically Inherited Diseases” on page 153.
Cardiomyopathy it when the muscle of the heart does not function properly. This can lead to angina, passing out (syncope), formation of blood clots (which can cause strokes and heart attacks), fatal abnormal heart rhythms (i.e. irregular rate of pumping), heart failure and sudden death. It often occurs in young people, even just after puberty. In some cases cardiomyopathy can be caused by nutritional deficiencies such as scurvy (deficiency of vitamin C) and thiamine deficiency which is caused by long term alcohol abuse. However, no visible cause for cardiomyopathy can usually be found on autopsy.
Through many case studies over the past 20 years of his ministry Henry Wright has observed a link between cardiomyopathy (an enlarged heart) and family trees where there is anger, rage, conflict and strife running through the generations.
In the chapter “Long Term Effects of Fear, Anxiety and Stress on the Body” which I initially referred you to, I explained how strife puts the body in a toxic state of stage 2 and 3 of stress. In the discussion on 1 John 4 v 18 I explained how when you have a breach in relationships, fear comes in the door.
There is a link between cardiomyopathy (an enlarged heart) and family trees where there is anger, rage, conflict and strife.
When your body is in stage 2 and 3 of stress, a whole sequence of reactions is set in motion via the hypothalamus (which is the mindbody connection) which leads to high levels of stress hormones flowing through the body. One of these stress hormones is cortisol. In large quantities cortisol causes breakdown of proteins (proteolysis). Protein is a vital structural building block of muscle. Break down the protein and you have severe weakening of the muscle – this causes the heart muscle to dilate (i.e. stretch outwards) and it cannot contract properly or pump blood effectively, and eventually the heart fails. Luke 21 v26: “In the last days men’s hearts shall fail them because of fear.” (KJV).
There is another type of cardiomyopathy where the heart muscle does not dilate and stretch outwards, instead it thickens (medical term is hypertrophy). The result is that there is less room for blood to flow into the heart. Because the heart is not receiving enough blood, it cannot pump out enough blood. This leads to all the complications of cardiomyopathy mentioned previously. This is caused by a defect in the genes.
I explained in the chapter on genetically inherited diseases that it is not just physical diseases that are genetically inherited, but spiritual problems as well. The strife and conflict opens the door to the spirit of fear which runs through the generations of that family tree and cardiomyopathy is the product of this inherited iniquity.
The devil is able to get in and alter our body chemistry through sin in our thought life. Science has proven that the mind-body connection is real – whatever goes on in your thought life, your brain converts into a physical reaction. However, a thought life dominated by strife, conflict and fear not only affects our body, but our genes as well, and in this case the genetic defect resulted in the heart muscle being improperly built.
Remember that your DNA is made up of genes. Your genes are inherited from your father and mother. Each gene has specific instructions for how to make a specific part of your body. For example, you have a gene that has instructions to make your eyes blue or green or brown. You have another specific gene that has instructions to make you a certain height (short or tall). Everything that determines the way you look and your whole body make up comes from an instruction manual which is encoded in your genes. There is a specific gene that has instructions on how to make the different components of the protein that makes up your heart muscle. When these genes are messed up, the instructions are muddled up – and then for example, your heart muscle is made too thick.
To date, genetic defects that produce this disease have been found in seven different heart muscle proteins. The amino acids (which are the building blocks of your DNA in your genes) are changed and swopped around, which is why the instructions on how to make the proteins in the heart muscle are muddled up. The progression and severity of the cardiomyopathy depends on which amino acid was changed. In some cases, the instructions for making heart muscle are misplaced and put on the white blood cells– this results in the continual inappropriate instruction to the heart to keep building more muscle and the result is the heart muscle becomes too thick. There is evidence that drugs called beta blockers and calcium channel blockers improve the condition of patients with cardiomyopathy where the heart muscle is too thick. These drugs work by blocking the effects of the stage 2 and 3 stress reaction on the heart.
However, medical drugs are not the ultimate answer – they have never cured cardiomyopathy because they do not deal with the underlying issues causing the disease. Healing of cardiomyopathy requires the removal of strife from your life as well as dealing with this iniquity generationally as I explained in the chapter on genetically inherited diseases. The following two chapters will help you:
• “Forgiveness – A Necessity for Healing” on page 481.
• The chapter on “Dealing with Fear, Anxiety and Stress” – start on page 529 from the heading “Dealing with the Deeper Fears”.
Pray this with me from your heart: ‘Father I repent for the strife in my life as well as in the generations of my family before me. In the Name of Jesus I release myself from the inherited rage, anger, conflict, fights, arguments and the fear that comes out of the stress. I take authority over the spirit of fear and the spirit of strife and command you to be gone out of my life and my family tree in the Name of Jesus! I command the heart muscle to return to normal size and the power of death to be broken over it in the Name of Jesus. By the stripes of Jesus I am healed and made whole (Isaiah 53 v 5) and I thank You Father for a new heart. Amen.
here is another type of cardiomyopathy where the heart becomes stiff because of scarring of the heart muscle. When the heart muscle is stiff, it cannot stretch to fill with blood. Because the heart is not able to receive enough blood, it cannot pump out enough blood. This leads to all the complications of cardiomyopathy mentioned previously. This happens for example in a disease called sarcoidosis which usually develops in people less than 25 years old. Most of the time the lungs are affected by this disease, but the heart can also be damaged. In sarcoidosis the immune system attacks and damages its own body tissue (which is what causes scarring of the heart). Whenever there is the body attacking the body – there is a low self-esteem and self-hatred in a person’s thought life. The chapter on autoimmune diseases on page 200 explains this in detail. If you have cardiomyopathy as a result of sarcoidosis, you need to build a healthy self-esteem which starts with knowing who you are in Christ and learning to see yourself as God sees you. The chapter on page 498 will help you with this.
Another disease that can cause this type of cardiomyopathy is amyloidosis which usually develops after the age of 40 years. It can be genetically inherited. It involves faulty/defective components of the immune system (antibodies) that are deposited on and damage the tissue all over the body, including the heart muscle. The spiritual root behind it is the same as sarcoidosis.
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