Heart Health

The Heart Explained: What does the heart do : The heart sends blood around your body. The blood provides your body with the oxygen and nutrients it needs. It also carries away waste.

We Got the Beat! How does the heart beat? Before each beat, your heart fills with blood. Then its muscle contracts to move the blood along.

It’s Great to Circulate

Blood moves through many tubes called arteries and veins, which together are called blood vessels.

These blood vessels are attached to the heart.

So what’s the difference?• Arteries carry blood

away from the heart.• Veins carry blood back

to the heart.

Your Heart Works Hard!

On average the heart beats:60 beats per MINUTE3,600 beats per HOUR100,000 beats per DAY

35,000,000 beats per YEAR2,500,000,000 beats during your

LIFETIME

Heart Disease in America• About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United

States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths.

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. More than half of the deaths due to heart disease in 2009 were in men.

• Coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease, killing nearly 380,000 people annually.

• Every year about 720,000 Americans have a heart attack.

Of these, 515,000 are a first heart attack and 205,000 happen in people who have already had a heart attack.

Source: Centers for Disease Control. CDC.gov, 2014.

Are you at Risk?• High LDL• Smoking• Diabetes• Overweight and Obesity• Poor diet• Physical Inactivity• Excessive Alcohol Use

Symptoms you should not ignore:

• Anxiety • Chest Discomfort• Dizziness• Fatigue• Nausea • Rapid or irregular heart beat• Shortness of breath• Sweating • Swelling• Weakness

Keeping the Heart Healthy Blood Pressure is one area of heart health that needs to be regularly checked and regulated. • High blood pressure, or hypertension, can be

affected by your overall weight, especially once you reach a body mass index score of 30 or higher.

• Excess fat increases the work your heart has to perform to pump blood throughout your body.

Blood Pressure- Know Your Numbers:

The harder your heart works, the more pressure is placed on the walls of your arteries, which can increase your risk for blood vessel damage.

Systolic Pressure( pressure when the heart beats, pushing blood through

the body)

Diastolic Pressure(pressure when the heart is at rest, between

beats)

Keeping the Heart Healthy

Cholesterol plays an important role in heart health; it influences your risk for heart disease, heart attack and stroke. • To travel through the bloodstream,

cholesterol has to be transported by helper molecules called lipoproteins.

• Cholesterol isn't all bad. In fact, cholesterol is an essential fat. It provides stability in every cell of your body.

The two main types of cholesterol are:LDL or the "bad" cholesterol • The LDL cholesterol is found in foods high in saturated fat,

especially animal proteins. When consumed in high levels, LDL cholesterol can build up in the bloodstream and calcify into hard plaque. This plaque makes it difficult for blood to circulate through the affected arteries, increasing your risk for cardiovascular damage.

HDL or the "good" cholesterol• HDL reduces, reuses, and recycles LDL cholesterol by

transporting it to the liver where it can be reprocessed.

Keeping the Heart Healthy

A healthy diet is the key to heart health• A heart-healthy diet consists of the majority of

your calories coming from vegetables, fruits and high-fiber foods like legumes and whole grains.

• These foods are accompanied in moderation by lean proteins, especially fish, as well as low-fat dairy products, nuts and seeds.

Heart Healthy Foods• Salmon• Flaxseed• Oatmeal• Tuna• Walnuts• Black or Kidney Beans• Blueberries • Carrots• Spinach

• Tomatoes • Oranges • Sweet Potatoes• Broccoli• Cantaloupe• Brown Rice

Omega 3’s and Heart Health

Omega-3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of — or who have — cardiovascular disease. • Research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids

decrease risk of arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats), which can lead to sudden death. Omega-3 fatty acids also decrease triglyceride levels, slow growth rate of atherosclerotic plaque, and lower blood pressure (slightly).

Keeping the Heart HealthyActivity may be one of the best moves you can make maintain or improve heart health.

Consider just a few of the possible benefits of exercise:• Strengthens your heart• May improve congestive heart failure symptoms• Lowers your blood pressure• Makes you stronger• Helps you reach (and stay at) a healthy weight• Helps manage stress• Boosts your mood and self-esteem• Improves sleep

ACSM recommends 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week for healthy adults.

For Heart Heath, incorporate an activity routine that includes:• Cardiovascular or aerobic exercise. This

is the type that benefits your heart most. • Strength training. These exercises tone

and build muscle. You may use hand weights, weight machines at a gym, or your own body weight.

Don’t forget to stretch!

Source: American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), 2014.

“We can not change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we can not help but change.”– Sheryl Sandberg

THANK YOU