How well do you know your heart?

​Your heart is what keeps you going day in and day out. This month take a moment to check in on your heart’s fitness!

Did you know that even though most people put their hand on the left side of their chest to feel their heart, your heart is actually located almost in the center of your chest – between your two lungs?




How about: That an adult’s heart is approximately the size of two clenched fists. A child’s heart is approximately the size of one fist.

• During an average lifetime a heart will beat over 2.5 BILLION times!
• Even at rest the muscles of the heart work twice as hard as the leg muscles of a person sprinting all-out.

Your heart is one tough cookie and workhorse. Take a few minutes this week to evaluate your heart’s health and fitness.

There are several factors that can affect the health of your heart and even put you at risk for developing heart disease. Some risk factors include:

• High blood pressure, greater than 120mmHg / 80mmHg for adults (for a chart based on sex, age, and height for children please click here: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/guidelines/child_tbl.pdf
• High blood cholesterol levels.
• Sedentary lifestyle / obesity.
• Tobacco use.
• Poor nutrition.

Don’t fret though! There are steps you can take to build healthy habits and strengthen your heart. Here is an easy checklist to get started:

• Be physically active (150 minutes per week for adults and an hour a day for kids).
• Eat healthy foods.
• Control your weight (through exercise and your diet).
• Control your cholesterol and blood pressure (through exercise and your diet).

Be a positive role model by sharing your passion for heart health with your family. For instance, kids of active moms are twice as likely to be active themselves. Pick one thing you can improve upon and make a change. 2nd Recess is all about inspiring others to be active and help them establish healthy habits. If you move then we move, and vice a versa!

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