Hai Apnaa Dil to Awara Bechara:
Know your Heart
Human heart is perhaps the most misperceived organ in our body. First, it does not look like the romantic symbol you see on a valentine’s day cards. Its shape is more like a fist. It’s also not on the left side of your chest where you place your hand to show respect. It’s more in the centre with a slight left tilt. And no, your emotions don’t emerge from heart. They are all in your brain. The heart is the single most focused organ in human body with one explicit purpose: to beat. And what a job it does. In a lifetime of 70 years, it will beat around 2.5 billion times! And scientists have calculated that in that lifetime, the work done by the heart is equivalent of raising a one tonne object 240 km in the air. Your heart is a wonderous organ.
The workings of heart
For all it does, human heart is a surprisingly modest organ. It weighs around 250-350 grams and has four simple chambers. Two atria (Latin for entry rooms) from where blood enters and two ventricles (Latin for chambers) from where the blood flows out. Heart is often equated with a pump, and it’s the right comparison in so far as its functionality is concerned. But Heart is not a single pump, it’s actually two. One that sends blood to lungs and one which sends blood to rest of the body. Now why is lung singled out for such special treatment? That is because heart sends oxygen poor blood to lungs which nourishes it with oxygen meant for entire body. Given the critical nature of having a dedicated line (pulmonary artery) for lungs seems a reasonable idea! Another fun fact. While brain might be considered the most critical organ in the body, heart sends the maximum amount of blood to the kidneys.
Know Your tHeart Want a better heart? Move your legs!
Heart is located pretty much in the top half of the body and yet has to get back blood from the lowest parts. For a normal size adult this means pulling blood from a height of 4 ft 100,000 times a day. That’s a lot of gravity to overcome for a small organ. That’s where your big leg muscles come as a saviour. Apart from their function of locomotion they also act as subsidiary pumps to push back blood to heart. But in order to do so they need to be contracting and be in motion. And this is why sitting for too long is bad for your health. Make sure to walk around every 30-40 minutes through the day. Regular walks are recommended by doctors for a healthy heart.
What is blood pressure? The push of mercury!
The two phases of heart beat are called systole (when heart contracts to push the blood out) and diastole (when it relaxes and refills). The difference between these two is your blood pressure. The two numbers in a blood pressure reading, like 120/80, simply measure the highest and lowest pressure that your blood vessels experience with each heartbeat. The first number is systolic, the second diastolic and measures how many millimetres mercury is pushed on the standard measuring instrument.
Well into twentieth century doctors thought that a high blood pressure was a sign of good health. But now we know better. Till recently 140/90 was considered the baseline for high blood pressure (hypertension) but American Heart Association in 2017 revised the number down to 130/80, overnight tripling the number of people worldwide who should be considered unhealthy.
India is the heart disease capital of the world: Part Genes, Part environment
High blood pressure hits Indians at a younger age than western populations, and first heart attacks and strokes occur a decade earlier on average. Part of this is due to genetic factors like narrower arteries, pre-disposition to diabetes etc, but increasingly the causes are related to high sedentary lifestyle as well as pollution. Indian urban lifestyle in particular is now characterised by a lack of physical activity. Many contributing factors to this are a lack of open spaces, culture taboos especially for women, hectic lifestyle bought on by longer than average working hours and very long commutes. This makes urban Indians particularly vulnerable to Cardio Vascular Diseases.
While pollution of all types is bad for cardiovascular systems, the biggest threat is pollution of particulate matter below 2.5 micrometre (PM 2.5). These particles are so small that our lungs cannot filter these out and these particles therefore flow into the blood stream causing blockages and other long-term complications.
Five ways to protect your heart in 2024
1. Stop Smoking: If there is one thing you can do to help your heart it is to give up smoking. Smoking clogs your arteries in the same as pollution does. This one act will reduce your heart risks considerably and the best part is the benefit starts accruing from the first day.
2. Manage weight: Excess weight particularly around the middle of your body is a very high risk factor associated with Cardio Vascular Disorders. In an ideal scenario the waist to height ratio should be 1:2.
3. Eat Healthy: Right nutrition is one of the best ways to protect yourself from CVD’s. Eat food rich in proteins, fibre and vitamins. Reduce intake of sugar and high saturated trans fats. And compliment your diet with your physical activity.
4. Be Active: An active lifestyle is necessary to support a healthy heart. Research shows that 150 minutes of moderate activity per week considerably reduces the risk of Cardio Vascular Diseases.
5. Regular Preventive care after 30: Cardio Vascular Diseases were supposed to be old people issues, but that is not the case any longer. Data suggests that due to lifestyle and environmental factors young and healthy people are increasingly suffering from CVDs. It is estimated that more than 50% of heart attacks happen to people with no identified risk factors like weight, cholesterol etc. Hence it is important to get yourself screened regularly to identify problems early enough. Stich in time saves nine.
Conclusion
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