THE AFFAIRS OF THE HEART

"The heart asks pleasure first,
And then, excuse from pain
And then, those little anodynes
That deaden suffering.
And then, to go to sleep;
And then, if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor,
The liberty to die." 
EMILY DICKINSON, Poems. Pt. i. No. 9

Of all the vital organs in our body, the heart is most extolled. Just imagine what the world would be like, if poets and playwrights, lovers and the beloved had no heart to dwell on. Consider the following:

	My heart sank when I saw her first; 
	It terrifies the cockles of my heart; 
	Eat your heart out America; 
	No sky is heavy if the heart be light; 
	Every heart hath its own ache; 
	An innocent heart is a brittle thing;
	A gen'rous heart repairs a sland'rous tongue; 
	The incense of the heart may rise; 
	Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple;
	Create in me a clean heart, O'God; 
	A good heart's worth gold; 
	Soul of fibre and heart of oak; 
	The hearts that dare are quick to feel; 
	A gentle heart is tied with an easy thread;
	A small heart has small desires; 
	That which cometh from the heart will go to he heart; 
	That heart I will give to thee; 
	A faithless heart betrays the head unsound; 
	A good heart is better than all the heads in the world; 
	Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire; 
	Heartburn; 
	Heartbeat of America; 
	And let me wring your heart; 
	I will wear my heart upon my sleeve; 
	My heart is ever at your service; 
	Hearty appetite; 
	A heart once broken cannot be mended; 
	My heart bleeds. 

Romantic cliches aside, the ailing heart causes more troubles in life and is more to blame for death than any other organ of our body. One out of every four Americans has an ailing heart or blocked arteries, precipitating three heart attacks and one stroke every minute. Half of all deaths in this country are attributed to heart ailments, ranking them second only to respiratory diseases in terms of days-off bed disability but first in terms of the economic cost. The estimated cost for 1986: a hearty 100 billion dollars. Fortunately, the "epidemic" of cardiovascular diseases is on the downgrade in the U.S., having peaked in the 1950s when they accounted for 55 percent of all deaths compared to the current 50 percent. This decline, albeit small, is not a worldwide phenomenon; many European and Asian countries show substantial increase in heart diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases comprise several diverse ailments such as hypertension, stroke, and blocking of arteries. Whereas hypertension or elevated blood pressure can be easily detected in its early stages, atherosclerosis develops secretly in various parts of the body (such as in the arteries supplying blood to the heart and brain) over several decades, before the plaques break off, causing hemorrhage and blockage of the arteries. The symptoms of atherosclerosis appear suddenly in the form of heart attack, sudden death, angina, or stroke.

The general hardening of the arteries or arterioslcerosis is another serious disease which causes hypertension and atherosclerosis. Whereas high blood pressure is defined as readings above 160/95 range, the damage due to elevated pressure begins at much lower levels. For example, a healthy 35-years-old man has twice as high a risk of dying if his blood pressure rises from 120/80 to 142/90 and two and a half times more chance of death if the pressure rises to 152/95.

Given the history and the havoc of heart disease, man has long been motivated to search for a cure; none has been found but he did discover that whereas the cures are elusive, the prevention is not. If you can work your way out of the causative factors listed in Table 4.1, you are home safe.

TABLE 4.1
IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH RISK FOR HEART DISEASES

DO YOU:

suffer from hypertension? 
get easily agitated?
drink coffee, tea or alcohol excessively? 
eat a lot of red meat? 
like fried foods? 
count yourself among those who have had an open heart surgery?
feel shortness of breath? 
have sedentary habits? 
smoke? 
have diabetes, hypothyroidism, kidney disease? 
have obesity? 
have a family history of heart disease? 
find it difficult to enjoy a vacation? 
drive to work more than five miles each way? 
get bothered by little matters? 
think you are a pessimist? 
have a sweet tooth? 
hate exercise?