What the Heart Does

SOURCE: Various

Often considered to be a condition for the older generation, heart disease and other associated illnesses are on the rise across all age groups. That is why February, American Heart Month, is so important to us all. It is a fantastic opportunity to find out more about the warning signs and symptoms of heart disease, as well as the things that we can do in our everyday lives to reduce risk to our hearts.

Obesity, alcohol, smoking and high blood pressure are all things that people of all ages can be affected by. That said they are all things we can do something about with some diet and personal behavior modifications.

What the Heart Does

Your heart is the muscle at the center of your circulation system. The heart pumps blood around your body with every heartbeat. In addition to sending oxygen and nutrients to all parts of your body, the blood also carries away unwanted carbon dioxide and waste products.

The heart plays the following roles in the human body:

• Pumps oxygenated blood throughout the body

• Circulates hormones and other essential substances to different parts of the body

• Receives oxygen-poor blood and pumps it to the lungs for oxygenation and in the process transports waste products from the body

• Maintains blood pressure.

Interesting Heart Facts

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You may not think about your heart very often, but it does amazing things day in and day out to keep oxygenated blood circulating throughout your body. You might be surprised to learn how hard it works to keep you alive!

Here are 10 things you may not know about this incredible organ:

1. Your heart beats more than 100,000 times per day.

2. Your heart pumps about 1.5 gallons of blood every minute. Over the course of a day, that adds up to more than 2,000 gallons.

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What the Heart Does

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3. There are 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body, which is enough to go around the world twice.

4. The average heartbeat of a woman is about 8 beats a minute faster than a man's.

5. An adult heart is about the size of 2 hands clasped together. A child's heart is about the size of a fist.

6. Other than the cornea in the eye, every cell in the human body gets blood from the heart.

7. The right side of your heart pumps blood into your lungs. The left side of your heart pumps blood back through your body.

8. The greatest number of heart attacks occurs each year on Christmas Day. The day after Christmas and New Year's Day are close behind.

9. More heart attacks happen on a Monday than any other day of the week.

10. Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the United States. That's why it's important to be good to your heart by following a heart-healthy lifestyle. The best way to beat heart disease is to prevent it in the first place, or catch it early.