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Friday, Mar 29th

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Heart health advice from Dilkon Wellness Center

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February is American Heart Month

DILKON, Ariz. - The Dilkon Wellness Center staff with Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Program would like you to know that the adult human heart is about the size of a fist. You would think that the heart, not so big in size, is very limited in work.

This is not true.

Did you know that the adult human heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood every day and beats about 115,000 times each day? The daily work the heart performs is pretty amazing.

It is very important to keep our “ticker” in good condition. Some simple ways we can do this is eating a well-balanced diet, exercising, and not smoking.

Although our hearts are a major organ in our circulatory system, we cannot forget that our circulatory systems also consists of arteries, veins, lymph, and the lymphatic vessels and glands. In synchrony, all of these structures provide blood, nutrients, and oxygen to the rest of the body.

Even the smallest of disruptions such as clots, atherosclerosis or deposits of fatty plaque in the blood vessels, and high blood pressure can lead to great damage to our circulatory system and heart.

With active lifestyles and smart food choices, we can lower our chances of developing heart disease.

Emotional and mental health are also important to heart health. Managing stress also helps contribute to heart health and lowers our likelihood of developing heart disease.

Some ideas for managing daily stress include taking a leisure walk, deep breathing, drinking water, planning ahead, and avoiding procrastination. It is all about the small healthy changes on a daily basis. Now is the time to consider our heart health once again.

Remember, our DWC staff is here to help.

 

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