Meet the hardest working organ in show business–your heart. This muscular organ pumps oxygenated blood throughout the body and beats approximately 100,000 times per day! That’s a lot of love. [http://iheartguts.com/heart]
General Heart Information
Heartbeat
At rest, your heart beats approximately 60 to 100 times a minute. A child's heart rate is higher than an adults heart rate. In an average lifetime, a heart will beat around 3 billion times.
When you are physically active, excited or ill, your heart rate can rise significantly. This is a natural response to these situations.
There are two parts to each heartbeat. The first part, when the heart contracts and pumps blood, is called the 'systole' (sis-tol). The second part, when the heart relaxes so the chambers can refill with blood, is called 'diastole' (di-as-tol).
Pulse
Every heartbeat results in blood moving forward through your arteries. You can feel this movement as a 'pulse' by placing two fingers over the artery of your wrist. Your pulse rate tells you how fast your heart is beating.
Circulation
Your body has a network of blood vessels called 'arteries', 'veins' and 'capillaries', which carry the blood pumped by your heart. Your heart and these blood vessels make up your 'circulatory system'.
Arteries carry blood away from your heart. The largest artery in your body is called the ‘aorta’. It has branches that carry blood to your head, arms and legs, and organs in your chest and abdomen. The first branches of the aorta are the ‘coronary arteries’. These run back to the outside surface of your heart to form a network of smaller arteries that supply your heart muscle with oxygen and nutrients.
Smaller branch arteries feed into even smaller blood vessels called ‘capillaries’, which cannot be seen with the naked eye. Oxygen and nutrients pass into body tissues from the capillaries, and then veins carry blood back to your heart.
Heart Conditions
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A heart attack happens when there is a sudden blockage to an artery that supplies blood to an area of your heart. Coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death in Australia. It is also a major cause of disability, with many people reporting problems or needing assistance with daily activities. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a blood clot in one of the deep veins of your body, usually in your leg. Atrial fibrillation is one of a number of disorders commonly referred to as 'arrhythmias', where your heart does not beat normally. · Familial hypercholesterolaemia Familial hypercholesterolaemia is an inherited condition in which your body doesn't remove enough cholesterol from the blood. This causes high total blood cholesterol levels and early onset of coronary heart disease in some families. |
High blood pressure (also know as Hypertension) is the pressure of your blood in your arteries as the heart pumps it around your body. Cholesterol is a fatty substance produced naturally by your body and found in your blood. Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle has become too weak to pump blood through the body as effectively as normal. Heart palpitations are an awareness of your heartbeat. · Angina Angina is chest pain or discomfort caused by insufficient blood flow and oxygen to the muscle of the heart. Coronary artery spasm is a temporary discomfort or pain that is caused by a temporary spasm in one or more of your coronary arteries. Children can have a range of heart problems, including heart defects, heart murmurs, heart failure, arrhythmias and endocarditis. Find out more about how these problems are diagnosed and treated, and what it means for your family. |
Risk Factors:
The good news is that heart disease is largely preventable. There is no single cause for heart disease, but there are risk factors that increase your chance of developing it.
Non-modifiable risk factors
- increasing age
- having family history of heart disease
Modifiable risk factors
- smoking - both active smoking and being exposed to second-hand smoke
- high blood cholesterol
- high blood pressure
- diabetes
- being physically inactive
- being overweight
- depression, social isolation and lack of quality support
One of the most important things you can do is talk to your doctor about your risk of heart disease. Heart disease is not always obvious and often there are no symptoms. That is why it is so important when you next visit your doctor to have your risk factors measured - whether or not you think anything is wrong with you.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
Performing CPR can help save a life - often the life of a family member or someone you know. We recommend that every adult and teenager learn this lifesaving skill.
check out this web site for CPR courses, and watch there videos : http://www.heartandstroke.com/CPRguidelines.htm
Warning Signs of a Heart Attack
Heart Attack Facts website to learn the warning signs.
Visit the Canadian Heart and Stroke web site for more information on signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disorder and management plans.
also offering great resources for healthy eating habits, up to date researches and much much more.
http://www.heartandstroke.com/
Keep your heart healthy!
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Prevent. Perform. Recover.
Equinox Health Clinic.
