The following program presents principles designed to promote good health and is not intended to take the place of personalized professional care. The opinions and ideas
expressed are those of the speaker. Viewers are encouraged to draw their own conclusions about the information presented.
Our hearts pump 42 million gallons of blood during the course of a normal life time. Unfortunately for many engaging in unhealthy lifestyle habits can prematurely cut short the work of this magnificent pumping machine. Hello and welcome to Wonderfully Made.
My name is Don Morgan and I’m a professor in the department Health and Human Performance at Middle Tennessee State University. This is the ninth in a series of health programs aimed at underscoring the foundational role of physical activity in achieving and maintaining good health.
In today’s program, we’re going to be discussing the relationship between sedentary living and heart diseases and we’ll examine how a regular program of physical activity can help strengthen your heart and reduce heart disease risk. Heart disease also known as cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of people in United States and other developed countries around the world. Latest estimates from the America heart association indicate that heart disease was the underlying or contributing cause of over one million four hundred thousand deaths in 2003. One in three adult men and women have some form of cardiovascular disease and 64% of US adults have one or more cardiac risk factors, from a financial perspective the combined direct and indirect costs
of heart disease in 2006 are estimated to be a staggering $403 billion.
As shown in the following graphic, heart disease isn’t just a single health disorder, but rather it’s a general name for over 20 different heart and blood vessel diseases. Before discussing the processes which contribute to heart disease, it’s important to define the terms arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis.
Arteriosclerosis are hardening of the arteries is a condition in which blood vessels thicken and lose their elasticity. Atherosclerosis is a pathological form of arteriosclerosis, where the inner layers of the blood vessels walls become thick and irregular, because of the deposits of fat, cholesterol and other substances.
As this atherosclerotic plaque grows over time blood flow can gradually decrease diminishing the oxygen supply to the heart. The atherosclerotic plaque can also become calcified and develop cracks or ulcers leading to blood clots that can obstruct blood…….
