The heart is a hollow muscular body in the pear shape located between the lungs, in the middle of the chest. It ensures the blood circulation in all the organization, providing the cells by oxygen and nutrients. It is fixed at the sternum by particular conjunctive fabrics called ligaments. The size of an adult heart is comparable with that of the fist. At an average individual, it is approximately 13 centimeters long on 8 centimeters broad, and weighs less than 500 grams. The heart, located between your lungs in the middle of the thorax is the engine of the cardiovascular system, whose role is to pump the blood which it makes circulate in the body.
To meet the energy needs of the body, the heart must beat more than 100.000 times per day. The heart needs oxygen and nutrients to function correctly. The blood which circulates in the heart too quickly will be absorbed there, so that the heart has its own system of vessels, called coronary arteries. It includes four cavities. The higher cavities are called auricles, they are small, because they can at the same time contain only three half-spoons with soup of blood. The lower cavities are called ventricles; they are a little larger than the auricles and can at the same time contain approximately a quarter of cup of blood. It is rather bizarre to realize that these small cavities are charged to pump almost 8 000 liters of blood per day. In the higher part of the right auricle a small part is called Sino-auricular node (or sinusal node of Keith and Flack). This area orders all the mechanism of regulation of the cardiac beats. It helps starting and establishing the cardiac beats. This tiny area orders your heart to accelerate when you run or that you make exercise, and to slow down when you are sitting or sleeping.
Each part of the heart functions separately of the other. The right side of the heart is charged to return blood low in oxygen to the lungs to eliminate the carbon dioxide and to oxygenate the blood. The right auricle receives the venous blood brought by the vena cava. Blood is then propelled in the ventricle right. The pulmonary artery is the only artery of the organization to transport blood low in oxygen. The left side of the heart receives blood coldly oxygenated coming from the lungs and redistributes it into all the parts of the body. Oxygenated blood penetrates in the left auricle by the four pulmonary veins. They are the only veins of the organization to transport oxygenated blood. Blood is then propelled in the left ventricle and must cross the mitral valve, which controls the flow. The walls of the left ventricle are three times larger than the walls of the ventricle right. The thickness of the cardiac muscle gives to the left ventricle the power necessary to pump blood in all the body. When your heart beats, blood is propelled through the aortic valve in the aorta, which is the largest vessel of the organization, and is distributed in the body via a network of arteries.
The cardiac diseases: The cardiac diseases are dangerous and may lead to the death.
Coronary pathology: Coronary heart disease or (coronary artery disease) is the narrowing of the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart (coronary arteries). Coronary disease usually results from the build-up of fatty material and plaque (atherosclerosis). As the coronary arteries narrow, the flow of blood to the heart can slow or stop, causing chest pain (stable angina), shortness of breath, heart attack, or other symptoms.
Myocardial infarction: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. A myocardial infarction results from constriction or obstruction in the coronary arteries. The most common cause is a blood clot (thrombosis occlusion) that lodges in an area of an atherosclerotic coronary artery.
Atherosclerosis: Atherosclerosis is the name of the process in which the deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, calcium and other substances build up in the inner lining of an artery. This buildup is called plaque; it usually affects large and medium arteries. Plaques can grow large enough to reduce the flow of blood through an artery, but most of the damage occurs when they become fragile. Plaques build blood clots that can block the flow of blood or break it off and go to another part of the body. If either a blood vessel that feeds the heart is blocked, that causes a heart attack.
Angina Pectoris: Angina pectoris is the chest pain due to an ischemia (a lack of blood and hence oxygen supply) of the heart muscle, generally due to the obstruction or spasm of the coronary arteries (the heart's blood vessels). Coronary artery disease, the main cause of angina, is due to atherosclerosis of the cardiac arteries.
The principal causes of cardiovascular diseases:?The principal risk factors of cardiovascular diseases are those on which the prevention can act: cholesterol, arterial hypertension, tobacco and the physical inactivity.
Cholesterol: The Cholesterol is an essential substance to our body, it becomes dangerous when its rate in blood is in excess. Cholesterol in excess settles on the walls of the arteries in particular those of the heart (coronary arteries), building lubricating plates which thicken with the passing of years (atherosclerosis).
Arterial hypertension: The “blood Pressure” varies naturally at the rate/rhythm of the heart: When the heart contracts and propels blood in the arteries, it is higher (systolic pressure); when the heart is slackened and fills of blood coming from the veins; it is lower (diastolic pressure). Arterial hypertension corresponds to a too high pressure of blood in the arteries: since 14/9.
Smoking: The tobacco is a great threat for the arteries: The coronary artery (risk of infarction, sudden death), arteries of the legs: arthritis meets almost exclusively among smokers, cerebral arteries (risk of paralysis). The Nicotine accelerates the heart beats, increases the blood pressure, causes a drop in the HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol), increases the aggregation of the blood plates and supports the formation of clots.
Physical inactivity: Without regular physical effort, the cardiac muscle looses its power of contraction. It receives and returns less and less blood from and to the body, therefore less oxygen to the muscles. It recovers less quickly after the effort.
Now you are able to reduce your cardiovascular risks by changing your lifestyles, your nutrition system by avoiding alimentation rich in fats on animal basis, quit smoking, practicing sports and controlling your blood pressure.
