The human heart is one of the human organs that performs very hard work. Imagine that it pumps 350 liters of blood in an hour, and now try to pour a huge tub of water with a bucket. Throughout his life, the heart beats more than 3 times, and during this time he does not take a coffee break, does not sleep, and usually no one fixes it. In that case, it’s good to know something about the heart that works so hard and efficiently for us.
The heart as the most important element of the circulatory system lies almost in the middle of the chest, between the two lungs, slightly shifted to the left, and its size is approximate to the size of the owner’s fist. All children draw hearts resembling a leaf, and indeed our heart is somewhat similar to this shape, because it is similar to a flattened cone turned upside down. It is also worth remembering that a specialist in heart health is a cardiologist. With its work, it provides the whole body with a fresh supply of blood, full of oxygen, vitamins, hormones and all substances necessary for the proper and optimal operation of all our organs. We couldn’t live without his work. It is therefore worth knowing what threats that may interfere with its operation await us on a daily basis.
The first threat is a heart attack. All kinds of changes occur in the blood vessels, which in their nature lead to serious diseases. One of them are blood clots that can obstruct thin blood vessels, thus cutting off the blood supply to vital organs, and often to the lungs, brain or even the heart. This causes a heart attack, which more precisely means dying of their cells due to hypoxia and malnutrition.
Another serious threat is ischemic heart disease. It consists in coronary insufficiency, which is caused by narrowing of the coronary vessels. This is the effect of atherosclerosis. Deposition of cholesterol and calcium deposits in the walls of the arteries contribute to reducing the amount of oxygen and nutrients delivered to the heart. Cardiac arrhythmia is another threat to our heart. When there are additional, unnecessary contractions of the heart muscle, its work becomes irregular, it starts to accelerate unexpectedly or dangerously slow down. It happens sometimes even in completely healthy people.
And now some theory. The heart consists of 4 chambers: 2 upper atria (left and right) and two chambers below them (left and right). If the heart has no structural defects, the right and left sides of the heart have no connection because they are separated by a septum. The entire myocardium is surrounded by a double membrane, the first surrounding the epicardium and the second surrounding the pericardium. Between these layers there is a fluid that acts as a lubricant, thanks to which the heart stays in the right position and is attached by special ligaments to the spine, diaphragm and other parts of the chest.
Its work consists in continuous, alternating contraction and relaxation of the atria and ventricles. When we are relaxed and rested, this happens about 70 times a minute. And when we are excited, nervous or tired of physical exertion (also during sex) it accelerates up to 130 times per minute. It is also worth mentioning that the heart works in a two-phase cycle. The first, diastolic phase pumps blood into the atria, the used one flows into the right one, and the fresh one goes straight from the lungs to the left, and when the blood is collected in both, there is a contraction that sends the blood back into circulation, which means that the second phase has occurred cycle – systolic. Used blood flows to the lungs to be oxygenated, and fresh blood, enriched with oxygen, flows to the arteries supplying the whole body. What’s most interesting, while you’re reading this, your heart has done this cycle at least a dozen times.
Another curiosity is the fact that blood during its journey through the entire circulatory system changes its color when it goes to the lungs it is dark red, and when it flows out of them it changes to light scarlet. This is due to its high oxygenation. In this way, the work of the heart could never end. By nature, it has been adapted to a century of operation. However, if we want to take care of his health, we should remember a few important rules.
1. Workout and sex – Sex has been proven to support the health of your heart just like a good workout.
2. Eat plenty of nuts – Nuts are not only healthy for your heart, so it’s worth introducing them to your diet as soon as possible.
3. Check your pulse – it is important to react quickly and contact a doctor in case of long-term abnormalities.
4. Breathe healthy air – as you know, it’s hard to affect the quality of the air around us, but we can avoid the unfavorable one, for example, quit smoking as soon as possible 🙂
5. Sleep well – Insomniacs have been proven to have a much higher risk of heart problems.