Heart is the most significant organ of the body. It controls and regulates the entire body. An individual can survive the loss of other organs of body but not of a heart. The moment heart ceases pumping blood to the body, it results in a heart stroke and there are chances that the person may die.

But people are often negligent in taking care of this undeniably crucial organ of their body. This is made evident by the studies that reveal the escalating deaths due to cardiac arrests every year. It is not just the elderly who are gripped by cardiac seizures due to their age, which implicates a declining health but also young children, and even infants who are inflicted by heart ailments.

1. Heart diseases- human heart starts malfunctioning due to many reasons. In other words there are different diseases that affect human heart.

• Congenital Heart Disease is a very common one. It leads to malformation of heart during prenatal development and other severe complications. Chromosomal abnormalities, transfer of infected genes and environment are the main attributed causes to congenital heart disease.

• Coronary Artery Disease is one where heart simply stops pumping blood to the arteries. The blockages or difficulty in the blood flow to the main source of oxygen to the heart muscle i.e. coronary arteries is deemed to be the primary factor that results in this disease. Apart from this the thickening of the arteries called arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure and other problems like asthma, diabetes etc. are the causes of CAD. CAD produces a heart attack and so even the death of the concerned individual.

• A viral infection that attacks the pericardium pouch enveloping the heart is the ground for the Pericardial heart disorder.

2. The Roots of Heart Ailment- in most of the cases the individuals themselves are responsible for their cardiac troubles.

• Over stress is the biggest threat to a healthy life so much so that it affects even one’s heart.

• Faulty food habits i.e. eating more of junk and fattening food rich in cholesterol is the primary reason for a heart attack.

• Obesity and lack of physical labor also accentuates cardiac problems.

• Heart problems are also hereditary.

• Blood pressure patients are more prone to heart attacks.

• Alcoholics, smokers and drug addicts have acute possibilities of heart failure.

3. Some Common Cures- it is not likely to prevent every heart problem especially those malformations or diseases that are innate or since the time of birth. They can at best be treated with the aid of surgeries.

• Watch your eating and drinking habits. Avoid cholesterol abounding food like butter, cheese, creams, cakes and pastries etc.

• Pregnant women are advised to keep away from hard drinks, cigarettes and narcotics. Negligence in this regard can be a source of incurable congenital heart disease to the baby.

• If you are a sedentary worker, make it a point to exercise daily in order to maintain a healthy living.

• Endeavor your best to have a nutritious and balanced diet.

• If you suffer from diabetes, blood pressure, asthma or any such disease, go for regular medical check ups to know about the functioning of the internal organs of your body.

• Last but not the least, avoid doing things that petrify you and do not favor your health. For instance if altitude or great height scares you, it is not a prudent choice to go for mountain climbing.

Day One:

Create a list of your health and fitness goals. Be aware of any outside voices in your head telling you what you should do and think about what you want to do. Why do you want to this? What benefit will you get from this? Review your list again and make sure the only goals remaining are yours and yours alone.

Day Two:

Create and plan and a time-line for achieving them. Post this plan where you will see it every day. Do not skip this step. Creating a plan and then stuffing it in a drawer will not help you. Decide to hold yourself accountable.

Day Three:

Take a step toward the direction of your goal. If your goal is to run a marathon and you used to be a “runner” but babies and work and life have gotten in the way, you just have to get out there and run. Do not worry about where, when, or for how long. Just get your shoes on and get moving. The periodization and the tapering will come later. You need to get back into the groove and make running a habit.

If your goal is to simply get to the gym more, set a reasonable goal to get there 3 days a week and if you do more, great. If you want to lose a certain amount of weight, create a calendar with goal weights in the short and long term that are visible to you every day. Create goals that are challenging but that are not too much of a stretch. The point here is to take the step today and then take another one tomorrow.

Day Four:

Appreciate what your body is capable of and how much control you have over how you look and feel and how much energy you have. Do not waste any time or energy focusing on body parts you feel are unattractive or how that run that used to be a “recovery run” had you panting for far too long after it. Concentrate on what you accomplished today and believe that you will do even more tomorrow.

Day Five:

Listen to your body regarding food. If you are not hungry, do not eat just because it says 5:00. Eat for fuel and for performance and to give your body the necessary juices to function at its peak. Would you put sludge and junk in your car and expect it to run? Your body knows what it wants and what it needs. Listen to it; however, if you think it is telling you to grab a pint of ice cream, listen again.

Day Six:

When it comes to your health and fitness choices, apply the 10-10-10 rule. How will it feel in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years? It may feel good in 10 minutes to sit on the couch and cozy up to a good movie but in 10 months you could be a lot worse off than you feel now and there is no telling what the outcome would be in 10 years. If you choose to get up and go, in 10 months you will have gotten up off the couch so many times that you can’t imagine your life without exercise and in 10 years, when you are alive and kicking and feeling better than ever, you will be so glad you made the small choices along the way that lead to big rewards.

Day Seven:

Take responsibility for the shape your body is in. You cannot blame your overweight and out of shape body on the fact that you have had 3 children. You cannot blame it on a slow metabolism. Those are excuses that people use to sabotage their own success. In the end they still have an overweight and out of shape body and nobody wants to listen. You have control, you make the choices, you decide how healthy you want to be. Do not give up that power for one minute. Embrace it and use it and you will be able to accomplish all of your health and fitness goals faster than you think.