Hi! I'm Your Heart

I look nothing like the valentines and little heart-shaped candies you give out on Valentine's Day. I am actually about 12 oz in weight (about the size of your fist) and reddish – brown in color.  I am a muscle, located in the middle of your chest, slightly to the left.  Many times when people think of me, they think that I am very delicate and even fragile.  This is very far from the truth.  I am strong enough to circulate all the blood around your body about once every minute.  This provides your body with all the oxygen and nutrients it needs.  As the blood pumps through the body it also carries away waste products.  I am a very hard working double pump system.  One pump carries blood to the lungs and the other pump moves the blood out of the lungs into all the working parts of the body.

Generally if you take care of me you don’t need to give me a second thought. I will keep doing my job.  Occasionally, due to heredity, I may cause some problems.  Most of the time the trouble I give you can be avoided by following some simple rules.  First, lets look at your weight.  When you’re overweight it makes me have to work much harder because I have to push the blood through so much more area. Carrying extra weight can also increase your blood pressure which makes me also have to work harder and get very little rest during my rest time (the bottom number of your blood pressure).

The next thing to consider is smoking.  Nicotine is very stressful to me.  It causes my arteries to constrict which again makes me have to work against pressure.  Nicotine is also a stimulant which makes my normal number of beats per minute speed up.

Now, I would like you to consider exercise.  Regular exercise helps to me relax and decrease some of the stress you put on me.  Exercise will also help to burn off some of that extra weight, which will reduce the stress on me.  Additionally, performing regular exercise (most days of the week) at a moderate intensity helps to create the formation of new blood pathways. 

Finally, let’s consider your eating habits.  By following a healthy eating plan that limits fats and sweets you can reduce the plaque that is forming in my arteries.

So if you could watch your weight, stop smoking, get some regular exercise and cut back on the rich foods you and I can work together for a long time!