Written by David (mrloferlofer)
In March of 2010 I received repeated trauma to the head, face. Almost a year later on March 9, 2011 I experienced my first seizure.
The whole day was strange. I had no appetite or thirst, and had a lot of trouble swallowing. I was emotional, paranoid and a little confused. I noticed was sweating more than usual, and felt short of breath; but I did not make anything of it. As it continued, I started to notice my heart fluttering and a pain starting to twist inside, below the navel.
I felt something rise, like a knot or a ball of tension that moved along the right-center of my abdomen right beneath my appendectomy scar. The tension started to rise, like inAlien, moving up my torso and began pushing into my lungs. I stood up, shocked. My right arm was tingling, and going numb.
I couldn't breathe at all. I thought maybe I needed sugar, so I tried to drink orange juice, but nothing went down; I still wasn't able to take in any breaths. After about a minute of being on my feet and not breathing the tension continued to push up along my sternum, rib cage and behind my right pectoral until it started to send a great deal of pressure up into my head.
I heard the Ocean and felt cobwebs on my face; I knew enough to sit down on the couch. I slouched, doubled-over like a shrimp and everything went dark. I was worried, scared. I was in Europe and had no health insurance; I thought I was dying and wondered what my family would say and where my body would go.
In the darkness I felt consumed and small. Someone told me 'no, wake up!' and suddenly I shot-up, stiff as a board, into a full plank position kicking the hefty coffee table out of the way in front of me.
I began shaking like I was being tasered, my eyes were now open and focused on the light in the ceiling. My wife walked in front of it, and she looked like an angel with a smeared rainbow emitting from the top of her head. In that moment we had the most intimate conversation I’ve ever experience; only nothing was said.
Since March 2011 I have experienced three separate episodes, the most recent being on May 14, 2013. I'd like to share some of the research I have found and some that I’ve paid for while seeking my own answers.
When I have these Transient Ischemic Attacks (Paroxysmal attacks) I am somewhat aware of what’s happening, but it’s not me. I feel connected to everything around me, but also feel like I'm being slowed down or underwater. The stream of consciousness is like a waking dream and I often see the Constellation Orion (it's seven brightest points) if I close my eyes during one of these "Mini-Strokes."
So, what are Transient Ischemic Attacks?
A Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) is also known as a “Mini-Stroke.”
According to Dr. Michael Hatlelid, a “(TIA) is an episode of acute brain malfunction, usually from a blockage in a small or big artery to the brain. A true TIA leaves no damage in the brain, whereas a stroke does.” (1)
One way to tell the difference between a TIA and a stroke is in the duration: a TIA usually lasts 20-30 minutes, whereas a stroke is the same symptoms drawn-out over a longer period of time, which results in infarction (tissue death). (1)
Typical symptoms of TIA include a pattern of: sudden blindness (total or partial), numbness and possible weakness on one side of the face and body, slurring of speech, headache, difficulty using the correct words, sudden dizziness or incoordination of the limbs. (1)
Dr. Hatlelid goes on to say that “Diagnosis of a TIA is based on the symptoms and exam abnormalities noted above, resolving quickly. We evaluate a TIA and stroke very similarly. Both require being seen in an emergency room for evaluation.” (1)
As of 2002 "in the United States, estimates of the annual incidence of transient ischemic attacks that come to medical attention vary from 200,000 to 500,000. The true incidence may be much higher, because many apparent episodes never come to medical attention. On the basis of the results of a large nationwide survey, more than 5 million Americans have been given a diagnosis of transient ischemic attack.” (2)
The major risk factors for TIA and Strokes are well known: high blood pressure, diabetes, atrial fibrillation (a kind of irregular heartbeat), abnormal LDL know as ‘bad cholesterol’ and smoking.
What’s less known are the causes, triggers of TIA and other Paroxysmal attacks.
In March of 2010 I received repeated trauma to the head, face. Almost a year later on March 9, 2011 I experienced my first seizure.
The whole day was strange. I had no appetite or thirst, and had a lot of trouble swallowing. I was emotional, paranoid and a little confused. I noticed was sweating more than usual, and felt short of breath; but I did not make anything of it. As it continued, I started to notice my heart fluttering and a pain starting to twist inside, below the navel.
I felt something rise, like a knot or a ball of tension that moved along the right-center of my abdomen right beneath my appendectomy scar. The tension started to rise, like inAlien, moving up my torso and began pushing into my lungs. I stood up, shocked. My right arm was tingling, and going numb.
I couldn't breathe at all. I thought maybe I needed sugar, so I tried to drink orange juice, but nothing went down; I still wasn't able to take in any breaths. After about a minute of being on my feet and not breathing the tension continued to push up along my sternum, rib cage and behind my right pectoral until it started to send a great deal of pressure up into my head.
I heard the Ocean and felt cobwebs on my face; I knew enough to sit down on the couch. I slouched, doubled-over like a shrimp and everything went dark. I was worried, scared. I was in Europe and had no health insurance; I thought I was dying and wondered what my family would say and where my body would go.
In the darkness I felt consumed and small. Someone told me 'no, wake up!' and suddenly I shot-up, stiff as a board, into a full plank position kicking the hefty coffee table out of the way in front of me.
I began shaking like I was being tasered, my eyes were now open and focused on the light in the ceiling. My wife walked in front of it, and she looked like an angel with a smeared rainbow emitting from the top of her head. In that moment we had the most intimate conversation I’ve ever experience; only nothing was said.
Since March 2011 I have experienced three separate episodes, the most recent being on May 14, 2013. I'd like to share some of the research I have found and some that I’ve paid for while seeking my own answers.
When I have these Transient Ischemic Attacks (Paroxysmal attacks) I am somewhat aware of what’s happening, but it’s not me. I feel connected to everything around me, but also feel like I'm being slowed down or underwater. The stream of consciousness is like a waking dream and I often see the Constellation Orion (it's seven brightest points) if I close my eyes during one of these "Mini-Strokes."
So, what are Transient Ischemic Attacks?
A Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) is also known as a “Mini-Stroke.”
According to Dr. Michael Hatlelid, a “(TIA) is an episode of acute brain malfunction, usually from a blockage in a small or big artery to the brain. A true TIA leaves no damage in the brain, whereas a stroke does.” (1)
One way to tell the difference between a TIA and a stroke is in the duration: a TIA usually lasts 20-30 minutes, whereas a stroke is the same symptoms drawn-out over a longer period of time, which results in infarction (tissue death). (1)
Typical symptoms of TIA include a pattern of: sudden blindness (total or partial), numbness and possible weakness on one side of the face and body, slurring of speech, headache, difficulty using the correct words, sudden dizziness or incoordination of the limbs. (1)
Dr. Hatlelid goes on to say that “Diagnosis of a TIA is based on the symptoms and exam abnormalities noted above, resolving quickly. We evaluate a TIA and stroke very similarly. Both require being seen in an emergency room for evaluation.” (1)
As of 2002 "in the United States, estimates of the annual incidence of transient ischemic attacks that come to medical attention vary from 200,000 to 500,000. The true incidence may be much higher, because many apparent episodes never come to medical attention. On the basis of the results of a large nationwide survey, more than 5 million Americans have been given a diagnosis of transient ischemic attack.” (2)
The major risk factors for TIA and Strokes are well known: high blood pressure, diabetes, atrial fibrillation (a kind of irregular heartbeat), abnormal LDL know as ‘bad cholesterol’ and smoking.
What’s less known are the causes, triggers of TIA and other Paroxysmal attacks.
Paroxysmal attacks, or paroxysms, are a sudden recurrence or intensification of symptoms such as a spasm or seizure that have been observed in disorders such as MS, head trauma, stroke, asthma and epilepsy to name a few. (3)
A story that made national headline in December of 2012 was that 27 year old actor/musician, Frankie Muniz, had suffered a “Mini-Stroke.”
Muniz shared his experience in a video interview; his TIA occurred on November 30, 2012:
"Yeah, I was hanging out; it was a normal day. I went to go to pick something up for my fiancé; she had left something at her mom's house. So I got on my bike, just to cruise out there real quick, and literally just started seeing something weird like in my vision; I couldn't tell what it was. I thought it was on my visor.
Realized it was my eyes, cut to a few minutes later I lost like all peripheral vision; and I kept getting kind of surprised by cars coming down next to me because I couldn't sense them.
But then, I just started feeling really weird: my body just didn't feel like me and I felt really tired and my arms started going numb, my leg went numb; I could barely use my hands. So like by the time I got back to my house I was hardly being able to even start the bike from a stop.
So got to the house, tried to just lay on the couch and relax; didn't really know what was going on. Cut to maybe 30 minutes later, I was trying to talk and I thought I was talking; but my fiancé, you know, was looking at me like I was speaking a foreign language-there was nothing coming out that was English words-even though in my mind I was saying exactly what I wanted to say.
Crazy headache, just a really weird experience; but I didn't have any idea of what was going on , so, finally allowed myself to be taken to the hospital. And you know, they did a bunch of tests and told me what I was experiencing was a TIA, which is also known as a 'Mini-Stroke,' which for my age, for me as a person: I'm a fairly healthy person, I work out a lot, I'm active, you know I don't smoke, I don't drink, I've never done any drugs, I've never done anything bad to my body in a sense; so it was kind of crazy.
But, you know, I've learned now that it does happen to a lot of people, a lot of young people; so I'm happy that I could try to make people aware that it can happen to other young people as well.” (4)
In a quote from Dr. Richard B. Libman, in a CBS News article detailing Muniz’s TIA experience, he says that, "Stroke has been noted to having an increased frequency in young adults without a clear cause...Historically stroke has been thought to as a disease of the elderly with increased risk associated with those with preexistent atherosclerotic and heart disease." (5)
Dr. Libman stated that the, “Rates of stroke have increased for young adults who have other family-related risk factors like high cholesterol or hypertension or have experienced trauma.” (5)
Frankie Muniz’s story was chosen because of the publicity it received and his comprehensive anecdote that accurately portrays the pattern of symptoms related to a TIA.
There are others: Rapper Lil’ Wayne, 30, suffered a seizure in March, and was recently hospitalized on April 30, 2013 after experiencing a more severe episode; he is epileptic. (6)
Algeria’s president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 76, was hospitalized on April 27, 2013 after he had a brief blockage of a blood vessel, a transient ischemic attack. (7)
These Transient Ischemic Attacks are occurring with a clear cause that is rarely, if ever addressed in Main Stream Media news articles: Geomagnetic Storms caused by variations in space weather that are locally driven by our Sun.
The MSM focus of space weather is typically on the impacts to our Technological, Power Infrastructures and the potential monetary damage; rarely mentioned are the underlying health effects on human beings.
Before getting into the jaw dropping, pay-to-learn data, would like to answer one question that a reader may be having concerning the connection between TIA’s, space weather and the human condition:
So what?
Well for those readers with two $ for eyes, look at this quote from an article that looks at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recent report about the average charges for common procedures in US hospitals:
“St. Francis charged $16,846 for transient ischemia, on average, and Stormont-Vail charged $17,533, a difference of $687. Transient ischemia is commonly referred to as a “mini-stroke.” It has similar symptoms to a stroke but lasts only a few minutes and doesn’t typically cause brain damage — though it can be a sign a patient needs to take steps to prevent a future stroke."
All Health Insurance profiteering aside, this is shocking in that there are so many claims being made as to there being ‘no clear cause’ of paroxysmal conditions like TIA, stroke, epilepsy, etc.
Consider this:
“Studies show (see, for example, the following papers and references therein: Breus and Rapoport, 2003; Palmer et al., 2006) that during periods of severe geomagnetic disturbances, number of hospitalized patients with nervous diseases significantly increases; cerebral insults, different paroxysmal conditions, nervous disturbance disorders and suicidal attempts are more frequent, and psycho-neurological diseases become aggravated.” (9)
Wait, what?
Different paroxysmal conditions are more frequent during severe geomagnetic storms (Kp Index 4 and Higher). These Geomagnetic Disturbances are occurring cyclically as the variations in the Solar Wind from the Sun interact with our Geomagnetic Field.
According to:
“Gurfinkel’ et al. (1998) showed that during geomagnetic storms, number of cases of myocardial infarction increases 2.5 times, number of acute cerebral insults – 2 times, angina pectoris and cardiac arrhythmia – 1.5 times, and deaths – 1.2 times, with respect to periods without geomagnetic storms.” (9)
NASA says that: every 11 years, on average, the Sun reaches a peak period of activity called “Solar Maximum.” This is followed 5-6 years later by a period of relative quiet known as “Solar Minimum.” During Solar Max there are many Sunspots, prominences, and solar storms (solar flares and coronal mass ejections) all of which can affect communications and technology on Earth. The 24th Solar Cycle is set to peak this year, 2013; but has been fairly weak so far. (10)
However, if you listen to a cognitive neuroscience researcher, professor like M.A. Michael Persinger, he’ll tell you that’s it’s not the intensity of the stimulus that matters, but the change in the pattern that occurs. (11)
Moving on:
“Negative influence of the geomagnetic field disturbances on human health is well displayed by the nervous system. Geomagnetic storms, as any stress factor, influence the functional state of humans and as such, impact the central nervous (the brain and spinal cord) system. This system behaves as a sensitive screen, perceiving even weak disturbance fluctuations (oscillations) in the environment. Both the central and the vegetative nervous systems of a human being are sensitive and responsive to geomagnetic disturbances. (Baevsky, 1979; Mikhailova, 2001).” (9)
It’s no secret that the Sun has been the focal point of many cultures, religions, and civilizations throughout history. And now, a brief history lesson; don’t worry, it’s relevant!
During the Maunder Minimum (1645-1715) the Sun was compulsively observed by observers like Galileo; the prolonged absence of Sunspots led to a Little Ice Age. At that time there were no lights, no motor cars; not a single luxury - it was an Amish Paradise. (12)
Yet there were climate extremes similar to those that we are experiencing today. There was plague across Europe at the same time that populations of Native Americans were being wiped out by pathogens such as smallpox, measles, and influenza. There was also widespread war, famine and social upheaval on every continent. (13)
Begging the question, was it really European born illness spread by colonization? Or was it space weather producing a global event that synchronized the one-two punch of climate extremes and air/soil borne pathogens? After all, “we are 90% bacteria” says biologist Daniel Smith, researcher for Hospital Microbiome Project. (14)
In a recent study, believed to be the first of it’s kind, “researchers used genomic techniques to document the presence of significant numbers of living microorganisms - principally bacteria - in the middle and upper troposphere, that section of the atmosphere approximately four to six miles above the Earth’s surface.” (15)
Space Weather 101: A lack of Solar Flares collapses Earth’s atmosphere; a collapse of Earth’s atmosphere leads to climate extremes and global pandemic. (13)(16)
The trend of space weather monitoring is ever increasing, with the collaboration between NOAA and NASA for the 2015 Satellite Launch of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite - R Series (GOES-R) promising to be the most comprehensive and timely weather satellite to date. (17)
If you missed that press release, there’s probably a good chance you missed this ‘well known’ fact as well:
“It is well known that the most sensitive sections of the human brain, influenced by negative factors of an environment, are hypothalamus (a region in the upper part of the brainstem that acts as a relay to the pituitary gland; it controls body temperature, circadian cycles, sleep, moods, hormonal body processes, hunger, and thirst) and cerebral cortex of the big hemispheres of the human brain (Kopanev and Shakula, 1985).” (9)
Come on, how could you not know that? Please excuse the occasional Midwestern sarcasm.
I was born in 1985, but it wasn’t until purchasing the paper “Effects of geomagnetic activity variations on the physiological and psychological state of functionally healthy humans: Some results of Azerbaijani studies” last week, from the Science Direct website, that I found out that valuable piece of information.
I would suggest you do the same and shell out $30, if you’re interested, to learn more about these conditions and the clear causes to many others. There’s a great deal of useful information in this paper, which is the reason it has been the focal point of this little ditty so far.
Would like to go back to my experience of TIA’s and how I am always emotional, angry, paranoid or confused leading up to a seizure; this is because during Severe Geomagnetic Storms the anterior portion of the right hemisphere is greatly impacted:
“Observed prevalence of changes in the right cerebral hemisphere proves the importance (‘‘interest’’) of the right hemisphere. According to Pereverzeva (1980), activation of the right hemisphere is accompanied by negative tinge of emotional reactions. Based on this fact, one can assume that during significant disturbances of geomagnetic conditions the negative emotional background of a person is amplified. This assumption is also proven by the results of the correlation analysis focused on strengthening cortical connections in the right cortical hemisphere and their short circuit on temporal sections, while, on geomagnetically quiet days, a profile of correlation interrelations has reflected weak internal and inter-hemispheric connections.” (9)
Makes one wondering why there’s so much wasted energy in the workplace on those certain days when everyone is upset, unproductive and nothing seems to be going well at all. The inflexible system that is in place is no longer effective in dealing with the extreme changes, challenges that are occurring as a result of our collapsing atmosphere, weakening Geomagnetic Field and sporadic climate extremes that drive pandemic synchronized on a global scale.
Why keep mentioning Global Pandemic and Climate Extremes? This is still about TIA’s and Mini-Strokes, since a TIA is a lack of oxygen ‘usually from a blockage in a small or big artery to the brain’ it only makes sense to briefly mention Arteriosclerosi, atherosclerotic plaque and Embolism.
Arteriosclerosi is well known: it is the thickening and hardening of arteries. It is an umbrella term describing any hardening, loss of elasticity of medium or large arteries. Loss of arterial elasticity triggers the sensation of strain, tension or building pressure during a TIA.
However, Arteriosclerosi is not to be confused with Atherosclerosis, which is better known as arteriosclerotic vascular disease. This is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol and triglyceride. This syndrome affects arterial blood vessel, a chronic inflammatory response in the wall of arteries caused by the accumulation of macrophage white blood cells and promoted by low-density lipoproteins. (18)
The accumulation of macrophage white blood cells is what I’d like to focus on as the underlying cause of the blockage, embolism the release of which is triggered by Geomagnetic Storms resulting in TIA and several other paroxysmal conditions. Remember how there are air, soil borne pathogens and climate extremes that have facilitated global pandemic throughout history?
This pattern is important in isolating the ‘no clear cause’ of TIA, strokes increasing in young people recently. This is due to the collapsing atmosphere, as a result we’re being exposed to more pathogens and plasma penetration as Earth’s shields occasionally falter and climate extremes run away with our predictable, patterned climate expectations.
Space weather and the changes in Solar Activity have a variable impact on our Terrestrial climate, according to NASA. (19)
Heat, cold, and precipitation records are all falling; it’s not just warming. (20)
With more bacteria, algal blooms and other pathogens due to cyclical climate extremes; one may start to notice a pattern emerging. Young people are becoming more susceptible to TIA and other paroxysmal conditions because our arteries are not only clogged with fatty materials but also with a build up of more macrophage white blood cells due to constant interaction with an increasing population of global pathogens.
Macrophages is Greek for ‘big eaters.’ Their roles is phagocytose, or to engulf and then digest, cellular debris and pathogens, either as stationary or as mobile cells. They also stimulate lymphocytes and other immune cells to respond to pathogens. They are specialised phagocytic cells that attack foreign substances, infectious microbes and cancer cells through destruction and ingestion. (21)
It is my assertion that our current socio-economic system has created a pattern of resolution-less stress, anxiety within our work weeks, deadlines and repetitive behaviors which create static, unhealthy lifestyles.
This artificial socio-economically imposed stress and anxiety (society uses Norms, positive and negative punishment as a form coercion) leads to an overproduction of immune cells which do indeed attack pathogens, but also accumulate with low-density lipoproteins and harden the walls of arteries leading to atherosclerosis plaque.
“Anxiety is a common emotion along with fear, anger, sadness, and happiness, and it has a very important function in relation to survival. Level of anxiety is often described as having cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components. Emotionally, anxiety causes a sense of dread or panic, while physically it causes nausea, and chills. Both voluntary and involuntary behavior may be directed at escaping or avoiding the source of anxiety.” (9)
This atherosclerosis plaque is what is dislodged and can temporarily block blood flow in hardened arteries when there are Geomagnetic Instabilities resulting in a wide range of paroxysmal conditions across the population.
These Geomagnetic Disturbances trigger the changes in a our pulse, blood pressure, psychological and physiological state of being via the Pineal Gland to Hypothalamus to Pituitary Gland connection. The environment we are in during these Geomagnetic Variations and the level of functionality, workability we’re expected to perform only adds to the stress and anxiety on experiences in any given moment.
“One of the interesting results is that indexes (or characteristics) reflecting the stress level have reached large values in the days with moderate geomagnetic storms (Fig. 7). The stress levels were comparatively low under either relatively quiet or severe geomagnetic conditions. Observed differences were reliable (CI is 95%).
The indexes of reactive anxiousness were increased in the days with severe geomagnetic disturbances (Fig. 8), while characteristics of personal anxiousness did not change significantly.” (9)
This means that your reaction to stimuli during Severe Geomagnetic Disturbances is going to be more anxious; anxiousness is what leads to the car accidents, the violence, and many of the health problems that many studies have found when researching these connections.
The connection being made between TIA’s and Geomagnetic Storms is here:
“the threshold of convulsive (spasmodic) readiness of the human brain is reduced; this is particularly dangerous for a person at high risk (vulnerable to physiological disorders) and, as a result, this fact should be taken into account for preventive measures and therapy of paroxysmal conditions.” (9)
This concludes the presentation of evidence and my personal assertions for Part 1 of this essay. Part 2 will focus on the continuation of this narrative and the presentation of the real time space weather data and the resulting Geomagnetic Disturbances that correspond to the TIA experiences, stories and pull quotes in the text above.
Published on May 17th, 2013.
REFERENCES: (in order of use, appearance)
(1) Dr. Michael Hatlelid. "House Call: TIA or stroke: What's the difference?" St. Louis' Suburban Journals. May 15, 2013.
Website: http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/metro/life/house-call-tia-or-stroke-what-s-the-difference/article_bf7561aa-b0fa-5f2b-b120-3ea5ccbd98fc.html
(2) S. Claiborne Johnston, M.D., PH.D. Clincial Practice: "Transient Ischemic Attack" Publication: N Engl J Med 2020; 347:1687-1692, November 21, 2002.
Website: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcp020891
(3) Wikipedia: Definition of Paroxysmal Attacks. Reference: Saunders Elsevier, “Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary 31e,” Philadelphia (2007), p1405, ISBN 978-1-4160-2364-7
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paroxysmal_attack
(4) Extra-TV. "Frankie Muniz Bouncing Back After Mini-Stroke, Still not '100 Percent.'"
December 12, 2012. Video Interview: http://www.extratv.com/2012/12/12/frankie-muniz-bouncing-back-after-mini-stroke-still-not-100-percent/
(5) Castillo, Michelle. "Frankie Muniz's mini-stroke: Common for young adults?" CBS News. December 5, 2012. Website: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57557289/frankie-munizs-mini-stroke-common-for-young-adults/
(6) Gundersen, Edna. "Lil Wayne can't recall seizures: 'I don't feel sick.'" USA Today. May 8, 2013. Website: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/05/08/lil-wayne-has-no-memory-of-seizures/2145185/
(7) The Associated Press. "Algeria's President Has Mini-Stroke." The New York Times. April 27, 2013. Website: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/world/africa/algerias-president-abdelaziz-bouteflika-has-mini-stroke.html
(8) Hart, Megan. "St. Francis, Stormont-Vail vary widely in Medicare charges." The Topeka Capital-Journal. CJ Online: May 11, 2013.
Website: http://cjonline.com/news/business/2013-05-11/st-francis-stormont-vail-vary-widely-medicare-charges
(9) Allahverdiyeva, Aysel A. & Babayev, Elchin S. "Effects of geomagnetic activity variations on the physiological and psychological state of functionally healthy humans: Some results of Azerbaijani studies." ScienceDirect: Advances in Space Research 40 (2007) 1941-1951.
Website: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117707009404
(10) NASA. "Solar Maximum!" Sun, Earth Day. Website:http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2013/solarmax/
(11) Persinger, M.A. Michael. "No More Secrets." YouTube Video published on March 30, 2011.
(12) Yankovic, 'Weird Al.' "Amish Paradise." Released on March 12, 1996. Scotti Brothers © 1996.
(13) Soon, Willie & Yaskell, Steven H. "Maunder Minimum: And the Variable Sun-Earth Connection." Google Books: © 2003 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Website: http://books.google.at/books?id=HfdG-HPiBdMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
(14) Dizikes, Cynthia. “We are 90% bacteria,’ says reseracher for Hospital Microbiome Project.” Chicago Tribune News. January 02, 2013. Website: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-01-02/news/ct-met-microbiome-20130102_1_human-microbiome-bacteria-human-life
(15) Natasha DeLeon-Rodriguez, et al., “Microbiome of the upper troposphere: Species composition and prevalence, effects of tropical storms, and atmospheric implications,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2013) Reprint by Georgia Tech.
Website: www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1212089110
(16) Suspicious0bservers, KAHB LLC. "Energy from Space." Transcript by Suspicous0bserversCollective. April 13, 2013. Website: http://suspicious0bservers.tumblr.com/post/47893031399/transcript-for-video-energy-from-space-published
(17) NASA, NOAA. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series. Press Release.
Website: http://www.goes-r.gov/
(18) Maton, Anthea; Roshan L. Jean Hopkins, Charles William McLaughlin, Susan Johnson, Maryanna Quon Warner, David LaHart, Jill D. Wright (1993). “Human Biology and Health.” Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-981176-1.OCLC 32308337.
(19) NASA. “Solar Variability and Terrestrial Climate.” Science News. January 8, 2013.
Website: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/08jan_sunclimate/
(20) NOAA. “U.S. Records.” National Climatic Data Center. Created by Jesse Enloe.
Website: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/extremes/records/
(21) Khazen, W., M'bika, J. P., Tomkiewicz, C., et al. (October 2005). "Expression of macrophage-selective markers in human and rodent adipocytes". FEBS Lett. 579 (25): 5631–4.doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2005.09.032. PMID 16213494.
A story that made national headline in December of 2012 was that 27 year old actor/musician, Frankie Muniz, had suffered a “Mini-Stroke.”
Muniz shared his experience in a video interview; his TIA occurred on November 30, 2012:
"Yeah, I was hanging out; it was a normal day. I went to go to pick something up for my fiancé; she had left something at her mom's house. So I got on my bike, just to cruise out there real quick, and literally just started seeing something weird like in my vision; I couldn't tell what it was. I thought it was on my visor.
Realized it was my eyes, cut to a few minutes later I lost like all peripheral vision; and I kept getting kind of surprised by cars coming down next to me because I couldn't sense them.
But then, I just started feeling really weird: my body just didn't feel like me and I felt really tired and my arms started going numb, my leg went numb; I could barely use my hands. So like by the time I got back to my house I was hardly being able to even start the bike from a stop.
So got to the house, tried to just lay on the couch and relax; didn't really know what was going on. Cut to maybe 30 minutes later, I was trying to talk and I thought I was talking; but my fiancé, you know, was looking at me like I was speaking a foreign language-there was nothing coming out that was English words-even though in my mind I was saying exactly what I wanted to say.
Crazy headache, just a really weird experience; but I didn't have any idea of what was going on , so, finally allowed myself to be taken to the hospital. And you know, they did a bunch of tests and told me what I was experiencing was a TIA, which is also known as a 'Mini-Stroke,' which for my age, for me as a person: I'm a fairly healthy person, I work out a lot, I'm active, you know I don't smoke, I don't drink, I've never done any drugs, I've never done anything bad to my body in a sense; so it was kind of crazy.
But, you know, I've learned now that it does happen to a lot of people, a lot of young people; so I'm happy that I could try to make people aware that it can happen to other young people as well.” (4)
In a quote from Dr. Richard B. Libman, in a CBS News article detailing Muniz’s TIA experience, he says that, "Stroke has been noted to having an increased frequency in young adults without a clear cause...Historically stroke has been thought to as a disease of the elderly with increased risk associated with those with preexistent atherosclerotic and heart disease." (5)
Dr. Libman stated that the, “Rates of stroke have increased for young adults who have other family-related risk factors like high cholesterol or hypertension or have experienced trauma.” (5)
Frankie Muniz’s story was chosen because of the publicity it received and his comprehensive anecdote that accurately portrays the pattern of symptoms related to a TIA.
There are others: Rapper Lil’ Wayne, 30, suffered a seizure in March, and was recently hospitalized on April 30, 2013 after experiencing a more severe episode; he is epileptic. (6)
Algeria’s president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 76, was hospitalized on April 27, 2013 after he had a brief blockage of a blood vessel, a transient ischemic attack. (7)
These Transient Ischemic Attacks are occurring with a clear cause that is rarely, if ever addressed in Main Stream Media news articles: Geomagnetic Storms caused by variations in space weather that are locally driven by our Sun.
The MSM focus of space weather is typically on the impacts to our Technological, Power Infrastructures and the potential monetary damage; rarely mentioned are the underlying health effects on human beings.
Before getting into the jaw dropping, pay-to-learn data, would like to answer one question that a reader may be having concerning the connection between TIA’s, space weather and the human condition:
So what?
Well for those readers with two $ for eyes, look at this quote from an article that looks at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recent report about the average charges for common procedures in US hospitals:
“St. Francis charged $16,846 for transient ischemia, on average, and Stormont-Vail charged $17,533, a difference of $687. Transient ischemia is commonly referred to as a “mini-stroke.” It has similar symptoms to a stroke but lasts only a few minutes and doesn’t typically cause brain damage — though it can be a sign a patient needs to take steps to prevent a future stroke."
All Health Insurance profiteering aside, this is shocking in that there are so many claims being made as to there being ‘no clear cause’ of paroxysmal conditions like TIA, stroke, epilepsy, etc.
Consider this:
“Studies show (see, for example, the following papers and references therein: Breus and Rapoport, 2003; Palmer et al., 2006) that during periods of severe geomagnetic disturbances, number of hospitalized patients with nervous diseases significantly increases; cerebral insults, different paroxysmal conditions, nervous disturbance disorders and suicidal attempts are more frequent, and psycho-neurological diseases become aggravated.” (9)
Wait, what?
Different paroxysmal conditions are more frequent during severe geomagnetic storms (Kp Index 4 and Higher). These Geomagnetic Disturbances are occurring cyclically as the variations in the Solar Wind from the Sun interact with our Geomagnetic Field.
According to:
“Gurfinkel’ et al. (1998) showed that during geomagnetic storms, number of cases of myocardial infarction increases 2.5 times, number of acute cerebral insults – 2 times, angina pectoris and cardiac arrhythmia – 1.5 times, and deaths – 1.2 times, with respect to periods without geomagnetic storms.” (9)
NASA says that: every 11 years, on average, the Sun reaches a peak period of activity called “Solar Maximum.” This is followed 5-6 years later by a period of relative quiet known as “Solar Minimum.” During Solar Max there are many Sunspots, prominences, and solar storms (solar flares and coronal mass ejections) all of which can affect communications and technology on Earth. The 24th Solar Cycle is set to peak this year, 2013; but has been fairly weak so far. (10)
However, if you listen to a cognitive neuroscience researcher, professor like M.A. Michael Persinger, he’ll tell you that’s it’s not the intensity of the stimulus that matters, but the change in the pattern that occurs. (11)
Moving on:
“Negative influence of the geomagnetic field disturbances on human health is well displayed by the nervous system. Geomagnetic storms, as any stress factor, influence the functional state of humans and as such, impact the central nervous (the brain and spinal cord) system. This system behaves as a sensitive screen, perceiving even weak disturbance fluctuations (oscillations) in the environment. Both the central and the vegetative nervous systems of a human being are sensitive and responsive to geomagnetic disturbances. (Baevsky, 1979; Mikhailova, 2001).” (9)
It’s no secret that the Sun has been the focal point of many cultures, religions, and civilizations throughout history. And now, a brief history lesson; don’t worry, it’s relevant!
During the Maunder Minimum (1645-1715) the Sun was compulsively observed by observers like Galileo; the prolonged absence of Sunspots led to a Little Ice Age. At that time there were no lights, no motor cars; not a single luxury - it was an Amish Paradise. (12)
Yet there were climate extremes similar to those that we are experiencing today. There was plague across Europe at the same time that populations of Native Americans were being wiped out by pathogens such as smallpox, measles, and influenza. There was also widespread war, famine and social upheaval on every continent. (13)
Begging the question, was it really European born illness spread by colonization? Or was it space weather producing a global event that synchronized the one-two punch of climate extremes and air/soil borne pathogens? After all, “we are 90% bacteria” says biologist Daniel Smith, researcher for Hospital Microbiome Project. (14)
In a recent study, believed to be the first of it’s kind, “researchers used genomic techniques to document the presence of significant numbers of living microorganisms - principally bacteria - in the middle and upper troposphere, that section of the atmosphere approximately four to six miles above the Earth’s surface.” (15)
Space Weather 101: A lack of Solar Flares collapses Earth’s atmosphere; a collapse of Earth’s atmosphere leads to climate extremes and global pandemic. (13)(16)
The trend of space weather monitoring is ever increasing, with the collaboration between NOAA and NASA for the 2015 Satellite Launch of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite - R Series (GOES-R) promising to be the most comprehensive and timely weather satellite to date. (17)
If you missed that press release, there’s probably a good chance you missed this ‘well known’ fact as well:
“It is well known that the most sensitive sections of the human brain, influenced by negative factors of an environment, are hypothalamus (a region in the upper part of the brainstem that acts as a relay to the pituitary gland; it controls body temperature, circadian cycles, sleep, moods, hormonal body processes, hunger, and thirst) and cerebral cortex of the big hemispheres of the human brain (Kopanev and Shakula, 1985).” (9)
Come on, how could you not know that? Please excuse the occasional Midwestern sarcasm.
I was born in 1985, but it wasn’t until purchasing the paper “Effects of geomagnetic activity variations on the physiological and psychological state of functionally healthy humans: Some results of Azerbaijani studies” last week, from the Science Direct website, that I found out that valuable piece of information.
I would suggest you do the same and shell out $30, if you’re interested, to learn more about these conditions and the clear causes to many others. There’s a great deal of useful information in this paper, which is the reason it has been the focal point of this little ditty so far.
Would like to go back to my experience of TIA’s and how I am always emotional, angry, paranoid or confused leading up to a seizure; this is because during Severe Geomagnetic Storms the anterior portion of the right hemisphere is greatly impacted:
“Observed prevalence of changes in the right cerebral hemisphere proves the importance (‘‘interest’’) of the right hemisphere. According to Pereverzeva (1980), activation of the right hemisphere is accompanied by negative tinge of emotional reactions. Based on this fact, one can assume that during significant disturbances of geomagnetic conditions the negative emotional background of a person is amplified. This assumption is also proven by the results of the correlation analysis focused on strengthening cortical connections in the right cortical hemisphere and their short circuit on temporal sections, while, on geomagnetically quiet days, a profile of correlation interrelations has reflected weak internal and inter-hemispheric connections.” (9)
Makes one wondering why there’s so much wasted energy in the workplace on those certain days when everyone is upset, unproductive and nothing seems to be going well at all. The inflexible system that is in place is no longer effective in dealing with the extreme changes, challenges that are occurring as a result of our collapsing atmosphere, weakening Geomagnetic Field and sporadic climate extremes that drive pandemic synchronized on a global scale.
Why keep mentioning Global Pandemic and Climate Extremes? This is still about TIA’s and Mini-Strokes, since a TIA is a lack of oxygen ‘usually from a blockage in a small or big artery to the brain’ it only makes sense to briefly mention Arteriosclerosi, atherosclerotic plaque and Embolism.
Arteriosclerosi is well known: it is the thickening and hardening of arteries. It is an umbrella term describing any hardening, loss of elasticity of medium or large arteries. Loss of arterial elasticity triggers the sensation of strain, tension or building pressure during a TIA.
However, Arteriosclerosi is not to be confused with Atherosclerosis, which is better known as arteriosclerotic vascular disease. This is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol and triglyceride. This syndrome affects arterial blood vessel, a chronic inflammatory response in the wall of arteries caused by the accumulation of macrophage white blood cells and promoted by low-density lipoproteins. (18)
The accumulation of macrophage white blood cells is what I’d like to focus on as the underlying cause of the blockage, embolism the release of which is triggered by Geomagnetic Storms resulting in TIA and several other paroxysmal conditions. Remember how there are air, soil borne pathogens and climate extremes that have facilitated global pandemic throughout history?
This pattern is important in isolating the ‘no clear cause’ of TIA, strokes increasing in young people recently. This is due to the collapsing atmosphere, as a result we’re being exposed to more pathogens and plasma penetration as Earth’s shields occasionally falter and climate extremes run away with our predictable, patterned climate expectations.
Space weather and the changes in Solar Activity have a variable impact on our Terrestrial climate, according to NASA. (19)
Heat, cold, and precipitation records are all falling; it’s not just warming. (20)
With more bacteria, algal blooms and other pathogens due to cyclical climate extremes; one may start to notice a pattern emerging. Young people are becoming more susceptible to TIA and other paroxysmal conditions because our arteries are not only clogged with fatty materials but also with a build up of more macrophage white blood cells due to constant interaction with an increasing population of global pathogens.
Macrophages is Greek for ‘big eaters.’ Their roles is phagocytose, or to engulf and then digest, cellular debris and pathogens, either as stationary or as mobile cells. They also stimulate lymphocytes and other immune cells to respond to pathogens. They are specialised phagocytic cells that attack foreign substances, infectious microbes and cancer cells through destruction and ingestion. (21)
It is my assertion that our current socio-economic system has created a pattern of resolution-less stress, anxiety within our work weeks, deadlines and repetitive behaviors which create static, unhealthy lifestyles.
This artificial socio-economically imposed stress and anxiety (society uses Norms, positive and negative punishment as a form coercion) leads to an overproduction of immune cells which do indeed attack pathogens, but also accumulate with low-density lipoproteins and harden the walls of arteries leading to atherosclerosis plaque.
“Anxiety is a common emotion along with fear, anger, sadness, and happiness, and it has a very important function in relation to survival. Level of anxiety is often described as having cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components. Emotionally, anxiety causes a sense of dread or panic, while physically it causes nausea, and chills. Both voluntary and involuntary behavior may be directed at escaping or avoiding the source of anxiety.” (9)
This atherosclerosis plaque is what is dislodged and can temporarily block blood flow in hardened arteries when there are Geomagnetic Instabilities resulting in a wide range of paroxysmal conditions across the population.
These Geomagnetic Disturbances trigger the changes in a our pulse, blood pressure, psychological and physiological state of being via the Pineal Gland to Hypothalamus to Pituitary Gland connection. The environment we are in during these Geomagnetic Variations and the level of functionality, workability we’re expected to perform only adds to the stress and anxiety on experiences in any given moment.
“One of the interesting results is that indexes (or characteristics) reflecting the stress level have reached large values in the days with moderate geomagnetic storms (Fig. 7). The stress levels were comparatively low under either relatively quiet or severe geomagnetic conditions. Observed differences were reliable (CI is 95%).
The indexes of reactive anxiousness were increased in the days with severe geomagnetic disturbances (Fig. 8), while characteristics of personal anxiousness did not change significantly.” (9)
This means that your reaction to stimuli during Severe Geomagnetic Disturbances is going to be more anxious; anxiousness is what leads to the car accidents, the violence, and many of the health problems that many studies have found when researching these connections.
The connection being made between TIA’s and Geomagnetic Storms is here:
“the threshold of convulsive (spasmodic) readiness of the human brain is reduced; this is particularly dangerous for a person at high risk (vulnerable to physiological disorders) and, as a result, this fact should be taken into account for preventive measures and therapy of paroxysmal conditions.” (9)
This concludes the presentation of evidence and my personal assertions for Part 1 of this essay. Part 2 will focus on the continuation of this narrative and the presentation of the real time space weather data and the resulting Geomagnetic Disturbances that correspond to the TIA experiences, stories and pull quotes in the text above.
Published on May 17th, 2013.
REFERENCES: (in order of use, appearance)
(1) Dr. Michael Hatlelid. "House Call: TIA or stroke: What's the difference?" St. Louis' Suburban Journals. May 15, 2013.
Website: http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/metro/life/house-call-tia-or-stroke-what-s-the-difference/article_bf7561aa-b0fa-5f2b-b120-3ea5ccbd98fc.html
(2) S. Claiborne Johnston, M.D., PH.D. Clincial Practice: "Transient Ischemic Attack" Publication: N Engl J Med 2020; 347:1687-1692, November 21, 2002.
Website: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcp020891
(3) Wikipedia: Definition of Paroxysmal Attacks. Reference: Saunders Elsevier, “Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary 31e,” Philadelphia (2007), p1405, ISBN 978-1-4160-2364-7
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paroxysmal_attack
(4) Extra-TV. "Frankie Muniz Bouncing Back After Mini-Stroke, Still not '100 Percent.'"
December 12, 2012. Video Interview: http://www.extratv.com/2012/12/12/frankie-muniz-bouncing-back-after-mini-stroke-still-not-100-percent/
(5) Castillo, Michelle. "Frankie Muniz's mini-stroke: Common for young adults?" CBS News. December 5, 2012. Website: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57557289/frankie-munizs-mini-stroke-common-for-young-adults/
(6) Gundersen, Edna. "Lil Wayne can't recall seizures: 'I don't feel sick.'" USA Today. May 8, 2013. Website: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/05/08/lil-wayne-has-no-memory-of-seizures/2145185/
(7) The Associated Press. "Algeria's President Has Mini-Stroke." The New York Times. April 27, 2013. Website: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/world/africa/algerias-president-abdelaziz-bouteflika-has-mini-stroke.html
(8) Hart, Megan. "St. Francis, Stormont-Vail vary widely in Medicare charges." The Topeka Capital-Journal. CJ Online: May 11, 2013.
Website: http://cjonline.com/news/business/2013-05-11/st-francis-stormont-vail-vary-widely-medicare-charges
(9) Allahverdiyeva, Aysel A. & Babayev, Elchin S. "Effects of geomagnetic activity variations on the physiological and psychological state of functionally healthy humans: Some results of Azerbaijani studies." ScienceDirect: Advances in Space Research 40 (2007) 1941-1951.
Website: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117707009404
(10) NASA. "Solar Maximum!" Sun, Earth Day. Website:http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2013/solarmax/
(11) Persinger, M.A. Michael. "No More Secrets." YouTube Video published on March 30, 2011.
(12) Yankovic, 'Weird Al.' "Amish Paradise." Released on March 12, 1996. Scotti Brothers © 1996.
(13) Soon, Willie & Yaskell, Steven H. "Maunder Minimum: And the Variable Sun-Earth Connection." Google Books: © 2003 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Website: http://books.google.at/books?id=HfdG-HPiBdMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
(14) Dizikes, Cynthia. “We are 90% bacteria,’ says reseracher for Hospital Microbiome Project.” Chicago Tribune News. January 02, 2013. Website: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-01-02/news/ct-met-microbiome-20130102_1_human-microbiome-bacteria-human-life
(15) Natasha DeLeon-Rodriguez, et al., “Microbiome of the upper troposphere: Species composition and prevalence, effects of tropical storms, and atmospheric implications,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2013) Reprint by Georgia Tech.
Website: www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1212089110
(16) Suspicious0bservers, KAHB LLC. "Energy from Space." Transcript by Suspicous0bserversCollective. April 13, 2013. Website: http://suspicious0bservers.tumblr.com/post/47893031399/transcript-for-video-energy-from-space-published
(17) NASA, NOAA. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series. Press Release.
Website: http://www.goes-r.gov/
(18) Maton, Anthea; Roshan L. Jean Hopkins, Charles William McLaughlin, Susan Johnson, Maryanna Quon Warner, David LaHart, Jill D. Wright (1993). “Human Biology and Health.” Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-981176-1.OCLC 32308337.
(19) NASA. “Solar Variability and Terrestrial Climate.” Science News. January 8, 2013.
Website: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/08jan_sunclimate/
(20) NOAA. “U.S. Records.” National Climatic Data Center. Created by Jesse Enloe.
Website: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/extremes/records/
(21) Khazen, W., M'bika, J. P., Tomkiewicz, C., et al. (October 2005). "Expression of macrophage-selective markers in human and rodent adipocytes". FEBS Lett. 579 (25): 5631–4.doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2005.09.032. PMID 16213494.
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