Health Notes

Hutt News, Volume 18, Issue 2, 14 June 1944, Page 4

Health Notes

By H. K. & D. W. Adamson, (Osteopaths)

The two principal features about the heart which everyone should realise and appreciate. ) )U t, which most merely choose to ignore, are, firstly. if is a pump, and secondly, the motive power which drives it, is derived from the heart muscle. Th. blood does nol merely How through ■ (he arteries and veins;Ml is forced through l.y I lie pumping power of the heart and the volume deli\ored to any ami ever*. part of the body, depends entirely upon the power exerted by the muscles of the heart. Now, most people know something about pumps even if their knowledge is confined to bicycle pumps only. At anyr;Ue they appreciate the fact that all mechanical pumps need power to operate ihem and that the power is furnished by a separate power plant. The heart however, is pump and power plant combined. It is it pump which furnishes its own power. This is accomplished through the contraetible power of muscle tissue and by the arrangement of the muscles around the four chambers of tlie heart These chambers may be likened to hollow rubber cylinders with openings between each guarded by one way valves. Squeeze the cylinders and the liquid contents will be forced from one cylinder to another. The heart is also provided with one way valves to provide for the How of blood in the direction only but they are far more intricately designed than any valves made by man, because they have to serve openings which, owing; to the elastic nature of the walls, are constantly changing in size. This is accomplished by the use of tufts or sheets of tough membrane which open only in the direction of the normal blood flow. Should they fail to close properly as they frequently do in certain forms of valvular disease and through faulty lack of development, then instead of all the blood in the chamber being forced forward during contraction, some of it escapes backward and makes, a peculiar "blowing" sound in doing so. —a sound that is easily detected by an instrument called a stethescope. In ordinary pumps, an ill-fitting valve would mean a serious loss of power. On tlie other hand, it is but a simple procedure for an engineer to take the pump to pieces and instal a new valve. A new valve cannot be installed in the heart, but in an endeavour to make up for the deficiency. the muscular walls of the heart grow larger and exert more power at each stroke thus compensating to some extent for the inefficient or derangement of the valvp. Remember now, the heart is purely a muscular organ and as such is subject to the same physiological laws as any other muscular structure. It needs exercise <is well , a* 5 rest. It must be kept free from the burden of fat. If must not. be subjected to such baneful influenc-es as tobacco, tannic acid, oxalic acid, alcohol and other tissue degenerating substances—not if you want it to serve you long and faithfully.