The Heart – the Hardest Working Muscle in Your Body

The heart is a strong muscle in your body. It pumps out about 70 milliliters (two ounces) of blood every time it beats. And it does this over three billion times in the average person’s lifetime. The cardiovascular system – comprising your heart and the vessels which carry blood around your body – literally keeps your cells functioning. It supplies vital nutrients such as amino acids and electrolytes. It carries oxygenated blood to cells, and carries away waste carbon dioxide. It helps you fight off disease, and even stabilizes your temperature.¹

Your heart is the hardest-working muscle in your body. But how much do you really know about this important organ? Like any other muscle in your body, the heart needs to be exercised, given nutrition and rest, and protected from toxins. And a healthy cardiovascular system is essential for people of all ages. For example: Coronary artery disease is the second most common cause of death for 30-49 year olds, yet 25% of 18-24 year olds don’t consider it to be a serious health condition.2 Another example of severe heart disease is heart failure, which affects more than 60 million people around the world. Around 50% of those affected die within five years of diagnosis.

What you eat also has a big influence on your cardiovascular health. Avoid foods that are high in saturated fat, trans-fat cholesterol and eat more fruit, vegetables and fish, and you’ll lower your risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, your risk of coronary heart disease,⁵ ischaemic stroke and type 2 diabetes increases steadily with your body mass index (BMI). Aim to keep your BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m2 to minimise your risk.⁶ So to stay healthy and live longer, pass on the donuts, and pick up an apple instead.

As well as exercise and diet, there are a number of lifestyle factors that affect your cardiovascular health. The link between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular health is a little complex, but there is a direct relationship between higher alcohol consumption and the risk of cardiovascular disease.⁷ The odd glass of wine might be fine but a whole bottle definitely wouldn’t be.

Smoking is estimated to cause nearly 10% of cardiovascular disease around the world.⁸ But quitting smoking reduces the risk to your health quickly and dramatically. One year after giving up cigarettes, your risk of coronary heart disease will have halved.⁹ And the age at which you quit has a big impact: in a 50-year follow up study by British doctors, ex-smokers who quit between the age of 35 and 44 had the same survival rates as those who had never smoked.¹⁰

1 The Physiological Society – Experimental Physiology “Human thermoregulation and the cardiovascular system"

2 Bayer “My Vascular Health Survey” & WHO “Top 10 causes of death”

3 WHO. Global Atlas on cardiovascular disease prevention and control. S. 46.

4 WHO. Global Atlas on cardiovascular disease prevention and control. S. 28.

5 WHO. Global Atlas on cardiovascular disease prevention and control. S. 32.

6 WHO. Global Atlas on cardiovascular disease prevention and control. S. 36.

7 WHO. Global Atlas on cardiovascular disease prevention and control. S. 30.

8 WHO. Global Atlas on cardiovascular disease prevention and control. S. 26.

9 British Heart Foundation. Broschüre „Understanding Smoking to reduce your risk of heart and circulatory diseases”.

10 WHO. Global Atlas on cardiovascular disease prevention and control. S. 26.

11 WHO. Global Atlas on cardiovascular disease prevention and control. S. 18.

12 https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/meditation-offers-significant-heart-benefits