My son races inside from school. “Mum! Guess what, my heart is THIS big!” he tells me, holding his two fists together. My 7-year-old has a fascination with how his body works and that is something I hope he never loses.
Whilst I was nursing it became clear to me that often we do lose this interest somewhere on the way into adulthood. I can’t even recall the number of conversations I had with patients over the years about making lifestyle changes to improve their health, and particularly their heart health. The general response was along the lines of:
– “Well love, you have to die from something.”
– “My Dad had a ticky heart so I can’t do much about it.”
– Or, when suggesting dietary changes, “Oh, I couldn’t live without donuts.”
How did we get to this place where we have lost connection with our incredible human body, and how it works so hard to self-heal and self-regulate? Consider for a moment these amazing facts:
Your heart has its own electrical current and will continue to beat even when separated from the body. On average, the human heart beats 100,000 times a day, pumping 5.6L of blood throughout the body. Happiness and a strong sense of emotional vitality helps lower your risk of heart disease.
How incredible is it that even while you sit and read this article, your heart is quietly doing its job, pumping life-giving blood through the body and into the lungs for purification before the cycle starts again. You don’t have to remind your heart to do this. Nor do you have to tell it to speed up so you don’t collapse when you are exercising. Your heart beats every moment of every day of your life, without a break or a reminder. Our thanks for this incredible feat is often to feed it with sugar, saturated fats, a sedentary lifestyle and a few cigarettes for good measure!
Today I want to set you a challenge – one that I will commit to as well. Click on the links below, and remind yourself how amazing your heart is. I have a feeling that if we spend some time on this, the next part of the challenge will naturally flow on as an active way of appreciating how hard our hearts work. If there are some small ways we can invest in keeping our heart in top shape, wouldn’t we do it?
So, part two of the challenge… make small changes. Swap out the next burger for a salad wrap. Walk the neighbour’s dog (Bonus points for this one- along with the benefits of physical activity, I bet your neighbour will be thankful and you will feel happy too, which reduces your risk of heart disease).
It’s the Heart Foundation’s Big Heart Appeal this month – so let’s get this message out – our hearts are incredible! It shouldn’t be left until we feel unwell to do something- often the first sign of heart disease is a massive heart attack. Take active measures today by thinking about what goes into your mouth, what you do with your feet, what you breathe into your lungs, and how happy you are. Make small changes. Your heart may not be able to say “thank you” in words, but that mighty little pump won’t have to work so hard if we invest in positive changes.
Lastly. Very importantly. I promise you… you CAN live without donuts!
Links on our amazing heart:
11 Fascinating Facts about the Human Heart
5 Heart Facts That May Surprise You
Ted Talk with Robert Waldinger – What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness
Tips on caring for your heart:
The Heart Foundation – Keep Your Heart Healthy
Want to learn more? Take this free course from the University of Reading:
