Vital Steps Wellness Program:
The Heart
The heart is an integral part of the cardio vascular
system that pumps blood around the body with the purpose of supplying working muscles with
oxygen. The right side of the heart receives blood returning from all parts of the body
and pumps blood into the lungs to oxygenate the blood.
The left side of the heart receives the oxygenated blood
from the lungs and channels it towards the aortic valve for distribution throughout the
body.
How Does It Affect Me?
The heart muscle is unique it is fist sized and has the
capability of maintaining its own rhythm. Nerves that go directly to the heart can rapidly
change the heart rate. Hence the heart may speed up in anticipation even before the start
of exercise. This would explain a rapid increase in heart rate when you are nervous,
excited or scared.
What Effect Will Exercise Have On It?
The efficiency of the heart is determined by its ability
to cope with the demands of physical activity. The output of the heart, as with any pump
is determined by its rate of pumping and the quantity of blood ejected with each stroke.
Blood flow increases in proportion to the intensity of
exercise. The trained heart will be able to cope with a higher intensity than that of the
untrained, as it will be able to provide the working muscles with a greater supply of
oxygen.
The individual who engages in regular physical will have
a greater stroke volume meaning more blood/oxygen will be pumped to the working muscles
with each heart beat.
A significantly large stroke volume is the key factor
that enables an endurance athlete to pump more blood from the heart each minute than an
untrained non-athlete
Through exercise stroke volume can be increased and
research indicates that the hearts pumping capacity will increase in health men and women
regardless of age through vigorous physical activity.
It is also common for the exercise heart rate to be
lowered by 12-15 beats per minute as a result of an aerobic conditioning programme. In
turn the resting heart rate will be lowered placing less stress on your heart over a
prolonged period.
In summary: YOUR HEART IS A
MUSCLE AND IT NEEDS EXERCISE! |
