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El Corazón (the Heart)

Alanis Acosta

September 21, 2020          

 

          In a blink of an eye, the year flew by and the month of September is now here. Along with it, a special celebration will take place soon on September 29th, known as World Heart Day. This global observance is the world’s, and the World Heart Federation’s biggest awareness-raising platform for cardiovascular disease, and it is celebrated every year. World leaders started this platform in May of 2012 for the purpose of reducing the mortality rate of non-communicable diseases by 25% by 2025, mainly cardiovascular disease. On this day, people unite and encourage one another to take proper measures and actions in order to prevent cardiovascular disease, by educating themselves on the risk factors and how to avoid them.

First, let’s learn more about the heart

            The heart is a vital organ in your body, acting as a pump to deliver blood to the rest of the body through arteries and veins. As the tissues use the blood’s oxygen as it circulates, the heart starts pumping more blood to the lungs, where an air exchange charges the blood with more available oxygen. To pump blood properly, the heart is dependable on many factors such as size and muscle strength, amount of nutrients and oxygen that it receives, and the condition of the vessels. It is known that your heart is about the size of your two hands clasped together, and it beats about 100,000 times a day. When mentioning heart diseases, there are broad categories in which these divide: cardiomyopathies are conditions that damage the heart muscle; rate and rhythm disorders occur when the heart’s rhythm is altered or irregular, such as arrythmias. There are also valve disorders that happen when the heart valves function improperly, and heart failure. Lastly, cardiovascular disease develops when fatty cholesterol is accumulated in the inner walls of the arteries, making it difficult for blood flow and eventually, causing heart tissue to die.

Now, what can we do to avoid all this?

            Cardiovascular disease accounts for more than 17.9 million deaths per year, being considered the world’s number one killer based on the World Health Organization. Sources prove that this affects mostly low- and middle-income countries, as well as the fact that most of them can be prevented. First off, a healthy diet is always crucial to the body: reduce those sugary juices and drink water instead, eat 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day, limit foods that have excessive amount of salt, sugar, or fat, and prepare your own healthy lunch for school or work at home. In addition, exercise has always been health-friendly: aim for at least 30 minutes exercise 5 times a week, download an app to keep track of your progress, start being more active by taking the stairs or biking instead of driving, etc. Research has also shown that happiness and a strong sense of emotional vitality can help lower the risk for heart disease.

            Heart disease is the greatest health threat for everyone-it has a greater danger than breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. With this in mind, let’s start making better choices for ourselves and educate the next generation to follow our steps.

                 

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