February – American Heart Month

The ancient Egyptians believed that the physical heart was the seat of intelligence and emotions. The Babylonians said the heart housed intellect and love. Greek Aristotle taught his listeners that it was the seat of the senses and the domain of the soul. Science finally reveals that it is a pump to circulate the blood throughout the body. 

Interestingly, though many proverbs refer to the figurative heart – our inner motives and desires, the physical heart (just a little larger than our fist) literally is where life springs out! It beats about 100,000 times a day, pumping the blood of life through the body’s 60,000 mile cardiovascular system – some 2,000 gallons daily – a flow rate that could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in less than a year! It also has it’s own electrical supply and will continue to beat for a time even when separated from the body. No muscle in our body works harder, longer, and steadier than the heart. 

However, heart disease according to CDC: “is common and is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, which puts them at risk for heart disease and stroke. The cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity from heart disease amounted to $252.2 billion between 2019 and 2020.”

So how can we take care of our heart? This February is the 58^th American Heart Month and American Heart Association (AHA) is urging the people all over the country to: “RECLAIM YOUR RHYTHM.” It means to reclaim control of our mental and physical well-being after two difficult years.