In this article, I’ll go over the Cardio-Vascular System, how it works and how to take care of it. I want to keep it ultra-simple with simply a description and a list of it’s functions.
The main point I want to get across is to keep the heart healthy and don’t clog the tubes. Yes, things can go wrong even with clear tubes. Valve malfunctions can be a hidden problem. Valve replacements are becoming more common — I should know. But the main takeaway from this article is to keep your heart pumping and your tubes clear. If you do that, you should live a heart healthy life.
What is the Cardio-Vascular System?
Oxygen and nutrients travel through the blood, pumped by the heart through the arteries to the capillaries. The blood is returned to the heart through the veins. Clean, oxygenated blood is pumped out to the cells, and blood with waste and CO2 is returned.
The heart is an automatic, ever-beating muscle. The way to keep it healthy is with exercise. Get your heart rate up — but not too high. Max heart rate is still measured in most quarters today as 220 minus your age times a percentage (but see below, it may be changing).
The Cardio-Vascular (C-V) System consists of your Heart (and it’s associated valves and tubes), your various blood vessels, and your blood (about 5 Liters and 8% of your body weight). The heart is the pump. The blood vessels are a group of hollow tubes that circulate blood throughout your body. These tubes consist of Arteries which carry oxygen from the heart and circulates your blood containing oxygen and nutrients throughout your body, and then return waste from your cells through your Veins, and dumps it.
The blood flow pattern looks like this: It starts with the Heart which pumps blood through the Arteries (from the heart) > Arterioles (connect to capillaries) > Capillaries (distribute oxygen, nutrients and collect wastes) > Venules (connect capillaries to veins) > Veins (return wastes) > back to heart. Rinse and repeat — literally.
The blood does the following:
- Transports oxygen and nutrients to tissues.
- Transports waste products away from the tissues.
- Transports hormones to organs and tissues.
- Regulates body temperature and acid/alkaline balance (pH).
- Clots when appropriate to prevent excessive bleeding.
How do you take care of you C-V System? I have discussed with two separate Cardiologists about the best was to keep the C-V System healthy. One is a gym buddy who works out the same time as I do, and the other is my own Cardiologist. They both confirm the necessity of exercise and eating right to keep the heart, as well as the rest of the C-V System healthy. They both practice what they preach.
What kind of exercise is best? For the C-V System, it’s exercise that gets your heart rate elevated for a while. How high? The old formula was a percentage of 220 minus your age. A more recent method, based on a study published in the Journal, Medical Science in Sports & Exercise suggests that a better measure is based on 206.9 minus (0.67 times age). So for me at age 79, the calculation would be 206.9 – 52.93 (0.67 X 79) = 153.97 Max. Heart Rate MHR. The exercise heart rate range goes from 57 – 67% of that calculated MHR for a sedentary person, to 80 – 91% MHR for a person who exercises regularly.
Confusing? Yes. I suggest you ask your doctor (who might not know). If you have a cardiologist, he or she should know. I think most people still use the old formula.
Don’t even ask me about eating. What clogged your tubes a few years ago doesn’t seem to clog them now. Cholesterol? Fat? Who knows? I’ll leave that for your doctor or a nutritionist to discuss that with you. Now, it seems, what causes you to lose weight may not be so good for your heart. LOTS OF VEGETABLES seems to be on ALL the “heart healthy” food lists, so eat your broccoli.
The point is that if you exercise, your chances of good heart health are improved. So go take a walk. Do some Pilates. Stretch some exercise bands. Get your heart rate up for a while. MOVE YOUR BODY!
Thank you for reading.