fabulous little pump

 Deep within our chests, a small organ beats, pumping life around our bodies. We pay it little attention unless it complains, and it generally only complains when we have been treating it badly. Despite our lack of gratitude and the fact that we take its work for granted, it beats around 100 000 times every day and it pumps around 23,000 litres of life’s juice through our veins. It is the center of our being, a key to our existence and it is no wonder that it lies also at the centre of our sentimental hopes, aspirations and losses.

There are many dangers to this precious organ. As we grow older it may become weaker, finding it harder to pump, or a clot of blood may pass through, blocking an artery, preventing the flow of blood and leading to a lack of precious oxygen. It may beat irregularly, too fast or to slow or poor diet may lead to the arteries being blocked by fat deposits making it hard for the organ to do its job.

Perhaps worse than this, 4600 babies are born each year with congenital heart disease. That means that one  baby in every 145 births is born with a condition preventing its heart from functioning properly. Perhaps the valves are poorly formed or there are cavities between the chambers of the heart.

Some of these babies will not survive. For others, parents live permanently against the clock, counting each day as it passes and thanking whatever force they believe in that this is another day that their child has lived to see, never knowing which day could be the last. Some children face operation after operation, others are told that their hearts are not strong enough to withstand surgery. For others, the only solution is heart transplantation with all the side-effects that such work can bring.

For children growing up with a heart condition, each game they play could be fatal. Sports day and even sports lesson are often out of bounds. Kicking a ball around on a play ground could be enough to cause an attack and lack of oxygen, running for a bus could mean they never catch another.

Heart disease is the biggest killer in the UK. In 2002, almost 238, 000 people died of cardiovascular disease. That is an amazing 38% of all deaths in the UK for that year. Whilst the rate of deaths from CVD has fallen since 1970, the UK still has the highest mortality rate caused by cardiovascular disease in Western Europe.

Help me to support the valuable work of the British Heart Foundation by sponsoring me or by checking into my blog on 29th July. Your support could save lives.

Have a heart – remember, this research could save your life too!

If you can spare a pound it would be fab if you could sponser me. Just paste the link into your browser:

https://www.bhf.org.uk/default.aspx?page=7900&p=85676

Thanks for your help if you can!