Why is the heart important in Healthy Aging?
Having a healthy heart is especially important as we age. There are things you can do to keep you heart healthy and strong. They include eating healthy, reducing stress, and exercising. These will help prevent disease.
Structure of the Heart
The human heart acts as a pump, moving blood throughout the body. Having a healthy, working heart is essential to living because the blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the rest of the body to keep it alive. It also carries carbon dioxide (a waste product of the body) back to your lungs where you breathe it out.
The heart has four spaces known as chambers that work together to move blood throughout the body. They are separated by valves which help blood flow only one way. The walls of these chambers make up the heart muscle. They receive an electrical signal from your body to shorten, creating your heartbeat, and moving the blood into your body.
The heart muscle has arteries (blood vessels) that supply it with oxygen and nutrients through the blood. These are your coronary arteries. It is important that the coronary arteries remain open. Plaque (a fatty substance) can build up in the arteries causing them to become narrow and limiting blood flow. When blood flow is restricted or cut off to the heart muscle, part of the muscle can die.
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