Your heart is roughly the size of a fist and sits in the middle of your chest, slightly to the left. It pumps blood around your body as it beats. The heart’s electrical system is responsible for making and conducting signals that trigger the heart to beat. These signals cause the heart’s muscle to contract. With each contraction, blood is pumped to all parts of your body. It supplies oxygen and nutrients, and carries away unwanted carbon dioxide and waste products. Your heart pumps about five litres (eight pints) of blood throughout the body – and this is called circulation. Your heart, blood and blood vessels together make up your cardiovascular system (or heart and circulatory system).

However, Heart diseases happen for various reasons, such as

• when your coronary arteries become narrowed by a gradual build-up of fatty materials. If your coronary arteries are narrowed or blocked, the blood supply to your heart will be impaired. This is the most common form of heart disease, known as coronary heart disease (sometimes called coronary artery disease or ischemic heart disease). Eventually, your arteries may become so narrow they can’t deliver enough blood to your heart. This can cause angina – a pain or discomfort in your chest, arm, neck, stomach or jaw.
• If the fatty material breaks off or ruptures, a blood clot will form, which can cause heart attack (or stroke, if the artery affected is carrying blood to your brain).
• If the electrical signals within your heart are interrupted, your heart can beat too quickly (tachycardia), too slowly (bradycardia) and/or in an irregular way. This is called an arrhythmia
• There are also conditions – like high blood pressure (hypertension) – which mean your heart has to work harder. Your heart can’t function normally if the heart valves aren’t working properly either, as it can affect the flow of blood through the heart.

Here are some things that you can do to help keep your heart healthy:

• Be active every day for at least 30 minutes!
• Eat a variety of healthy foods and avoid foods high in unhealthy fats, such as saturated fats and trans fats
• Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
• Avoid sugary soft drinks and fruit drinks.
• Avoid smoking, it can damage the heart and blood vessels
• Regularly monitor your blood pressure and sugar

Medications, supplements, and devices are available in our outlets to help maintain your heart in good shape, lower the risks of accompanying diseases, and help control certain conditions. (BP lowering medications, Cholesterol lowering medications, Glucose lowering medications, Medications to prevent blood clots, Omega 3 and other supplements, BP and Glucose measuring devices etc.)

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