CIRCULATION I 2 3 



YOUR HEART * 



It is true — that there is an actual increase in heart disease, but this in- 

 crease does not apply to all the people, Americans as a whole are living 

 much longer than they used to live, because comparatively few lives are 

 now cut short by the infectious diseases of childhood and youth. As a result 

 there are many more older people in the population than there used to 

 be, and it is in the older ages that the heart is most hkely to get in trouble. 

 The increase in heart disease that we hear so much about is primarily a 

 problem of late middle and old age. In youth and early middle age there 

 is much less heart trouble than there used to be. 



It is not true — that nothing can be done about heart disease. The 

 heart may bear much and not break. It has tremendous reserves of power. 

 The verdict of heart trouble in most cases does not mean death overnight. 

 Thousands of persons with damaged hearts are living comfortable, happy, 

 useful lives right now because they are cooperating with their doctors in 

 giving their hearts a chance. Many of them may live as long as they could 

 reasonably expect to Hve without heart trouble. Some of them even have 

 a chance of complete recovery. 



HEART FACTS 



Your heart is only as big as your fist, but most of its bulk is muscle. It 

 has just one job — to pump out into the arteries the blood returned to it 

 by the veins. All the millions of cells in the body depend upon the rapidly 

 circulating blood stream for the necessities of life and the removal of 

 wastes. The brain in particular must have a continuous supply of fresh 

 oxygen. Since the brain runs the body, death comes within seconds — at 

 most a very few minutes — after the heart stops beating. 



The amount of blood in your body is comparatively small — it makes 

 up only about 8 per cent, of vour body weight. But to keep that blood in 

 circulation through miles of blood vessels during an ordinary day of 

 work, play, and rest, the healthy heart pumps from 9 to 10 tons of blood at 

 an average daily rate of 70 strokes per minute. The normal pumping action 

 of the healthy heart is a continuous series of regular contractions and 

 relaxations — beat — rest, beat — rest, beat — rest, and so on for about 2^4 

 billion times if the pumping continues for 70 years. 



When you are "taking it easy," your heart takes it easy. It then rests 

 nearly twice as much as it works. But during periods of exceptional 

 physical exertion or emotional stress it may beat twice as fast as usual 

 and pump out twice as much blood. The faster the heart beats, the harder 

 it works and the less time it has to rest. On this important fact is based 



• Reprinted from Yo7ir Heart by permission of the Metropolitan Life Insurance 

 Company and the American Heart Association, 1946. 



