Honoring This Little Pump Inside Our Chest
February American Heart Month!!!
Our heart pumps around 20 quarts of blood per minute (at rest) and will pump a total of around 1.5 million gallons of blood (into a network of approximately 50,000 miles of blood vessels) every year for us! This little fist size pump is an amazing source of life for the rest of our body, and without its continued supply of oxygenated, nutrient carrying blood; our situation will deteriorate fast!
February is American Heart Month and is used to increase our awareness of cardiovascular disease and what we can do to prevent not only death and slowed performance from heart related complications, but to help us increase cardiovascular performance!
Cardiovascular disease, (which includes heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure) is the number 1 killer of women and men in the United States, and the answer is not more medicine, the answer is in correcting what is aggravating our heart and cardiovascular system, such as diets loaded with sugar and high fructose corn syrup, lack of exercise, stress, and lack of deep sleep!
Our blood pump (heart) is nestled in the middle of our chest between two large oxygen pumps (our lungs) and keeping these three healthy is not only a life-or-death issue, but it can also mean the difference in everything from helping prevent chronic disease to things such as our energy levels. When our oxygen levels drop, so does our energy and our capability to fight chronic disease.
Example: cancer hates oxygen. Cancer is very anaerobic (likes to work with sugar, not oxygen and fat).
Since our heart works so silently, and steadily within us, we oft times take it for granted until we get some severe warning signs that it is getting tired of our crappy treatment. Sometimes with proper care, we can turn things around, but if neglected for too long, it can cause death and at the least, decreased performance from the damage.
There are simply no substitutes for the basic healthy lifestyle habits that our heart wants, and until we start looking at our complications as a definition for the underlying problem and then correct this, the relationship between our heart and us is going to get worse.
Example: when we take a blood pressure medicine without trying to find out why our vascular system is under pressure, it’s like putting a muzzle on our husband or wife when they’re upset and then acting like they got no complaint!
Broken Heart Syndrome: there is research showing actual physiological stress connecting mental/emotional grief. The medical term for the condition is Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTS). It is a weakening of the left ventricle, the hearts main pumping chamber, usually as the result of severe emotional or physical stress. There has been a correlation identified between alterations to the functional activity of specific brain regions which strongly supports the idea that the brain is involved in the underlying actions of TTS.
It is very important to put into place, ways to offset the stress on our brain and heart. And the basic healthy habits still work for maintaining, and often can even help in restoring health to your heart and cardiovascular system…
The basics: fresh clean air, heart healthy balanced diet, sunshine, staying hydrated with clean water, exercise, deep rest, sleep, stress release, fun, faith, not dwelling on negative thought, dependence on God and quality time spent with the ones you care about! These basics give rest, rejuvenation, and strength to our brain and heart. And when we give back to this pump inside us that tirelessly continues to push oxygen, hydration, and nutrients out to our body, it will oft times thank us in long term peak performance!
In honor of my cousin Caleb Yoder May 26,1992 — February 16, 2022
