OUR BODY AND BENEFICIAL HEART EXERCISES

OUR BODY AND BENEFICIAL HEART EXERCISES

by Jadesola Adeoti

Our body is a machine that consists of so many organs and one of the most important of them all is the heart. The heart is a muscular pump that consists of four chambers with four different valves. These chambers are divided to be two on the right side and two on the left side. The right-sided chambers receives poorly oxygenated blood from the body through the superior vena cava and inferior vena cava and pumps it through the pulmonary trunk and arteries to the lungs for oxygenation. Left-sided chambers, on the other hand, receives this well oxygenated blood from the lungs through the pulmonary veins and pumps it into the aorta for distribution to the body. Hence, the heart is always trying to deliver well oxygenated blood to every part of the body or removing the blood that’s not oxygenated. This shows how important the heart is to the body as reduced blood supply to any part of the body can cause alot of damage to that part of which results in ischemia and might progress to necrosis if such supply is not restored. One of the major non communicable diseases today includes cardiovascular diseases which are diseases majorly affecting the heart and it’s various structures. The World Health Organization (WHO) accounts 17.5 million death out of 38 million deaths by Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs) to cardiovascular diseases making it the leading cause of death globally.

These are one of the most common plaque affecting not just the under developed or developing countries but also the developed countries as well. A paramount example is Hypertension popularly known as High blood pressure. About a billion people are affected by hypertension worldwide and this daily on the increase. Hypertension is one of the major contributor to the increase in Cardiovascular diseases whether they’re controlled or not or not even treated. Hypertension is also known as the silent killer as not only is it a problem on it’s own, it can also lead to other conditions like stroke, heart failure, coronary artery disease and now more commonly than before a major factor to kidney diseases.

How then do we take care of our heart?

There are modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors that could lead to most cardiovascular diseases especially hypertension. These modifiable factors are things we are can control and also change as compared to non-modifiable factors. Some of them include physical inactivity, alcohol consumption and our diet. Our diet is one very important and easy way to protect our heart. Eating food that are fresh and natural gives nourishment to not just the body but also the heart. Another major way which is the heart of the matter today is through exercise. Exercise is the only way to curb physical inactivity. There are different types of exercise that are beneficial but the most beneficial to the heart is Aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercises are exercises that uses oxygen to breakdown food to extract energy in muscles, mainly referring to low- to moderate-intensity physical activities.

They have been proven to benefit the heart by improvement in glucose clearance and insulin sensitivity, alleviating plasma dyslipidemia, decreasing blood pressure through lowering oxidative stress and inflammation levels, decline in plasma fibrinogen level which plays important roles in declining erythrocyte aggregation and decreasing blood viscosity etc. These benefits are mostly based on American Heart Association recommendations of aerobic exercises which includes 30 minutes, 5 times a week to reach at least 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise. Although, a lot of people find it difficult to follow these recommendations verbatim due to either age or some peculiarities but at least three days a week can still work depending on what’s safe and beneficial to you as well. Some examples of aerobic exercises include brisk walking, running, jogging, swimming etc. Brisk walking not only leads to increase in lung capacity but

also leads to changes in the cardiac autonomic functions. Running after a while helps to regulate the heart rate and amplitude. Swimming on the other hand is best for increasing pulmonary function more than other aerobic exercises. These exercises are one of the easiest to perform. They are safe with lesser chances of injury and require no equipment or expertise for performance. Therefore engaging in exercise is not only beneficial but attainable and should therefore be incorporated in our everyday activities in order to not just be healthy but also physically fit.