The Heart of the Matter

February 2021 is right around the corner! It’s American Heart Month.  Awww, how cute! Candy hearts, chocolate hearts, fruit that is shaped like hearts. I would be so bold as to say that a heart just might be the international symbol of love!

Much to my chagrin, American Heart Month and Valentine’s Day have no connection. In fact, it was President Lyndon B. Johnson’s heart attack in February of 1955 that eventually federally designated every February as American Heart Month. Back then, heart disease was the single largest health threat to Americans. Today, with our many inventions, technological advancements, and new discoveries, heart disease…HAS NOT CHANGED. It is STILL the single largest health threat, killing more people than all kinds of cancer combined, and it affects more people each year than the population of Dallas, Texas!

Wow. That’s a lotta people! Save yourself the step. I already googled it.  1.3 million Americans have heart disease. Oh. And it kills 2,300 people in America. Every. Single. Day.

If science is advancing in medicine in exciting new ways, and the internet is bursting with new information, hour by hour, how come 72% of Americans don’t believe they are at risk, and 83% of Americans feel that heart disease is preventable but are not motivated to do anything about it?

Your heart is about the size of your fist and pumps about 8,000 liters of blood every day. That is enough to fill FORTY 55-gallon drums. It is an organ that functions while you are awake or while you sleep, and it continuously functions for an average of 80 YEARS and NEVER shuts off or takes a break. When you have any kind of apparatus that works this hard, you NEED to get motivated to care for it!

Keeping the blood moving through the body is vital to survival. Circulating blood takes oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and white blood cells (to fight infection) to all organs and cells of the body. It also has a role in stabilizing body temperature and removing waste. I am a nerd, so I have a very favorite blood function. I am mesmerized by the blood’s ability to clot. Think about it. Breaks in the vessel walls activate the blood’s clotting features, making its own temporary “patch” to prevent blood loss. The body actually heals itself!

I could continue to take you down the rabbit hole of anatomy and physiology, but I will spare you those details. Just know that the heart is responsible for getting the blood where it needs to be to perform all those amazing and crucial functions. So, let’s take care of that pump!

YOU are in the driver’s seat when it comes to your heart:

  •         Don’t smoke! And if you do smoke, learn how to quit! Your doctor would probably geek out with excitement all over you if you told him you are ready to quit smoking.
  •         Manage your health conditions! High blood pressure and high cholesterol are issues that should not be ignored. Work with your health care team to manage these conditions. This includes taking the medications you are prescribed. (Don’t you roll your eyes at me!)
  •         Heart healthy eating! Reduce your trans/saturated fats, added sugar, and sodium. Fill half that plate with fruits and veggies.
  •       Stay Active! 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise is what’s recommended by the AHA. Break that into more manageable chunks if you want! Take the stairs, park far away from the store, and make your walks a little brisker than normal. You can also get ambitious and set a timer interval and “drop and give me twenty” every time it goes off. Get creative. Get a buddy. Make it fun!

To take care of that pump, you need to put your heart into it and…

Be Well!

 

 

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