Your heart beats 101,000 times a day. During your lifetime it will beat about 3 billion times and pump about 800 million pints (378 million litres) of blood.
A normal heart beats 70 to 80 times a minute. Over 70 to 80 years, it gives a few billion beats. It is the powerful machine inside you.
A heart consists of two pumps, each made of two chambers. The right atrium squirts oxygen-depleted blood from the body into the right ventricle, which pumps it to the lungs. The left atrium squirts aerated blood from the lungs into the left ventricle, which pumps it out to the body. With each heartbeat, the two small atria contract together, then the two large ventricles, making the beating sound.
A typical athlete’s heart churns out 6 to 8 gallons (25 to 30 litres) of blood per minute. In comparison, the best man-made heart can pump about 2.6 gallons (10 litres) per minute and lasts for about 200 million beats – or about 5 years.
A heart is difficult to imitate because it is a soft, wet, contractile muscle – unlike any technology developed thus far. A man-made heart is a battery-powered motor that either drives a piston, or drives a fan blade that sits immersed in a hydraulic fluid, moving a rotary valve. A good man-made heart, it seems, is hard to find.
10 Simple Steps To Live A Healthy Life
1. Healthy food intake - Eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day and avoid saturated fat. Beware of processed foods, which often contain high levels of salt.
2. Get active & take heart - Even 30 minutes of activity can help to prevent heart attacks and strokes and your work will benefit too.
3. Say no to tobacco - Your risk of coronary heart disease will be halved within a year and will return to a normal level over time.
4. Maintain a healthy weight - Weight loss, especially together with lower ed salt intake, leads to lower blood pressure. High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for stroke and a major factor for approximately half of all heart disease and stroke.
5. Know your numbers - Visit a healthcare professional who can measure your blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, together with waist-to-hip ratio and body mass index (bmi). Once you know your overall risk,you can develop a specific plan of action to improve your heart health.
6. Limit your alcohol intake - Restrict the amount of alcoholic drinks that you consume. Excessive alcohol intake can cause your blood pressure to rise and your weight to increase.
7. Insist on a smoke-free environment
Demand a tobacco ban - ensure your workplace is 100% smoke-free
Support the adoption of smoking - cessation services encourage your employer to provide help to those wanting to quit tobacco
8. Bring exercise to the workplace - Include physical activity in your working schedule - cycle to work if this is possible, take the stairs, exercise or go for a walk during your lunch breaks, and encourage others to do so too
9. Choose healthy food options- Ask for healthy food at your work canteen, or find nearby cafes or restaurants that serve healthy meals
10. Encourage stress-free moments -whilst stress has not been shown to be a direct risk fact or for heart disease and stroke, it is related to smoking, excessive drinking and unhealthy eating, which are risk factors for heart disease.
The final Curious © phrase:
“The heart has reasons that reason does
not understand....”
(Jacques Benigne Bossuel)
