b"CHAPTER ONE Are You Heart Smart? Y our heart is a complex and magnificent organ. Although it weighs just 8 to 14 ounces, this hollow muscle is responsible for circulating blood throughout your entire body. The heart is divided into two halves, each designed to direct blood in one direction only. The right half receives the blood returning from every part of your body after the oxygen has been used by the tissues and organs. It then pumps this oxygen-deficient blood into your lungs through a vessel called the pulmonary artery. There, the blood picks up oxygen before traveling to the left half of your heart.After this newly oxygenated blood makes its way to the left side of your heart, it is pumped into the aorta, the largest artery in your body. From there, the process starts all over again as the blood is sent through a complex superhighway of arteries, veins, and capillaries. During the resting period between each heartbeat, the heart also supplies blood to itself, delivering oxygen and other critical nutrients that allow it to maintain its constant pumping action. In fact, the heart needs as much as a pint of blood per minute to work properly.When this system is working correctly, your heart functions 8 Enemies of alike a high-performance machine. Yet there are a number of Healthy Heart factors that can undermine your cardiovascular health. These Your lifestyle choices can eitherunderlying causes of heart disease often have no symptomsfoster heart health or makeuntil its too late. you a prime target for futureCALCIFICATION:If youre over the age of 60, odds are cardiovascular problems. Here areyou have calcium deposits in your major arteries. As this eight of the most damaging habits.calcium accumulates and hardens, blood flow is reduced, and your arteries lose their elasticity. Studies show that Alcohol overindulgence arterial calcification also sets you up for other cardiovascular Avoiding exercise problems like high blood pressure, aortic stenosis (a narrowing of the heart's aortic valve), cardiac hypertrophy (a thickening Being overweight or obese of the heart muscle), and congestive heart failure. HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE:Also known as hypertension, high Eating a diet high inblood pressure occurs when the pressure inside your large ultra-processed food arteries is too highand its a leading cause of heart attack Ignoring your dental health and stroke. Whats considered too high? Blood pressure that reaches 140/90 or above on a consistent basis.Living with chronic stress INFLAMMATION:Chronic low-level inflammation has been Not addressing snoring orshown to damage the walls of arteries, and this contributes to sleep apnea the buildup of plaque. Over time, this accumulation can lead to a condition called atherosclerosis. Making matters even Smoking or frequent exposure toworse, chronic inflammation weakens existing plaque, making second-hand smoke it more vulnerable to bursting and causing a dangerous blockage that can trigger a heart attack or stroke. 4GET HEART HEALTHY"