The heart is a muscular and hollow organ, responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by rhythmic, repeated contractions. The term cardiac (as in cardiology) means “related to the heart” and comes from the Greek kardia, for “heart.” The heart is composed of cardiac muscle, an involuntary muscle tissue which can only found within this organ. It consists of four chambers, the two upper atria & the two lower ventricles.

The human heart is normally situated just slightly to the left of the middle of the thorax, underneath the breastbone. Most people visualise the heart to be further to the left as the left ventricle is stronger (as it pumps to all the body parts) than the right ventricle.
The apex of the heart is the blunt point that points down and left. A stethoscope can be placed directly over this area, so that heart rate can be measured. The physical location is between the sixth and seventh rib, just to the left of the sternum.
In normal adults, the mass of the heart is 8-11 oz (250-350 g), but extremely diseased hearts can be up to 2 lb (1kg) in mass, due to hypertrophy….

The right-side of the heart collects de-oxygenated blood, in the right atrium, from the body and pumps it, via the right ventricle, into the lungs (pulmonary circulation), so that carbon dioxide can be released and the blood be re-oxygenated (gas exchange). This happens through a passive process called diffusion.
The left side collects oxygenated blood from the lungs into the left atrium. From the left atrium the blood moves to the left ventricle which pumps it out to the body.
On both sides, the lower ventricles are thicker and stronger than the upper atria.

Regulation of the cardiac cycle

The heart is self exciting, because it has its own conducting system. This is unique in the human body, for example skeletal muscle requires either conscious or reflex nervous stimuli.

The heart rate can be changed by nervous or hormonal influences such as exercise or the perception of danger.

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It is well known that about two-thirds of the U.S. population is either overweight or obese. The U.S. Surgeon General has stated that approximately 75% of Western diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, gout, arthritis, excess weight gain, hypertension, diabetes, some cancers, impotence, biventricular disease, constipation, heartburn, and gallbladder disease, are lifestyle-related. They are directly correlated with our high fat diet, inadequate amounts of exercise, smoking, high intake of caffeine, and high amounts of stress coupled with insufficient support.

Hoping to address this alarming situation, more than 20 years ago, cardiovascular epidemiologist Hans A. Diehl, DrHSc, MPH, created the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP). Since then, this 40-hour community-based lifestyle intervention program has helped more than 40,000 people rediscover their health by preventing, arresting and reversing their diseases. It has been conducted in more than 150 North American cities as well as in Bangalore, India, Australia and Switzerland. Depending upon the needs of the group, the meetings are held either live with Dr. Diehl delivering the program personally (usually meeting four times per week for four weeks) or as a video-based program with certified CHIP facilitators (normally two times per week for eight weeks). In addition, Dr. Diehl is a best-selling author To Your Health, Dynamic Living, and Health Power (co-authored with Aileen Ludington, M.D.) — as well as the executive editor of a 24-page quarterly Lifeline Health Letter; he has produced scores of health videos. CHIP empowers people through its scientifically-documented, educational and inspirational program that addresses common western diseases — those that used to be seen primarily later in life. Today, these diseases increasingly appear at far younger ages. CHIP may make all the difference in ones life — even the difference between life and death.

In 1999, CHIP launched a community health transformation template in Rockford, Illinois, a city with a population of 130,000. The intention was to transform Rockford into the healthiest city in American, thereby enabling it to serve as a model and template for cultural transformation on a community-wide level. Recently, CHIP was recognized as just such a model by HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and was approved under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a STEPS to a HealthierUS applicant. In addition to live CHIP, a series of CHIP videos are offered through schools, churches, corporations, and hospitals. In Rockford, CHIP is sponsored by the Swedish American Health Systems Center for Complementary Medicine.

Who is the typical CHIP participant? Generally, CHIP participants are over the age of 40. Most are between the ages of 50 and 59. There are twice as many women as men, and almost 90% are married. Clinical research, published in peer review journals, has found that they have the following lifestyle diseases:

10% report having heart disease

27% have elevated blood sugar

42% are overweight

49% show evidence of hypertension

60% are obese

89% are cholesterol above 160mg%

Over the course of the program, strict adherents are likely to experience significant clinical improvements such as the following:

Serum cholesterol reduction average 15 20%

Average weight loss of six pounds

In about half of the participants with type 11 diabetes, a dramatic reduction in need for insulin and hypoglycemic agents

Lowering of high blood pressure levels

Diminishing of angina

Reduced levels of depression and increase in self-esteem

Class & Video Lecture Schedule

Week 1

Modern Medicine: Miracles, Medicines, & Mirages
The limitations of high-tech medical approaches in dealing with lifestyle related diseases
Portrait of a Killer: Onslaught from Within
Atherosclerosis, the culprit in many lifestyle diseases
Stalking the Killer
Reviewing the risk factors for coronary heart disease
Eat More and Weigh Less
Basic guidelines for healthy, sustained weight loss

Week 2

Going Up in Smoke
Smoking the most controllable risk factor for coronary heart disease
The Magic of Fiber
The role of fiber in preventing and reversing lifestyle diseases
Reversing Hypertension
Changing the major risk factors for high blood pressure
Disarming Diabetes
Lifestyle factors that can arrest or reverse diabetes
Effective Cholesterol Control
Dietary factors that prominently affect blood levels of cholesterol
Fats in the Fire
The role of excessive fat intake in lifestyle diseases

Week 3

Fit at Any Age
Benefits of regular exercise in preventing and arresting disease
Boning Up on Osteoporosis
Cause and prevention of this so-called disease of aging
Lifestyle and Health
Clinical studies that demonstrate how lifestyle choices are related to health
The Optimal Diet
Positive dietary guidelines for the prevention and reversal of Western diseases

Week 4

Diet and Cancer
Dietary factors in the development and prevention of common cancers
Atherosclerosis of the Mind
The importance of adaptability in achieving and maintaining optimal health
The Gift of Forgiveness
How a spirit of forgiveness enhances emotional and overall health
Building Self-Worth
The development, preservation and role of self worth in a healthy person

Connie Thebarges Story

At the age of 59, Connie Thebarge, a patient at the Ottawa Heart Institute in British Columbia, Canada, was told that her doctors could no longer help her. After all, in addition to suffering from hypertension, she had diabetes and painful diabetic neuropathy. She had two heart attacks followed by a triple coronary bypass surgery and an unsuccessful angioplasty. Every day, she had to take 27 pills. Not surprisingly, she was also depressed.

Yet, today, more than a decade later, Thebarge walks three miles a day, swims twice a week, dances, and travels to Florida and Europe. No longer depressed, she also requires far fewer pills. How was this accomplished? Thebarge participated in CHIP and transformed her life.

Written by the Editors at Weight Loss Buddy Press in collaboration with Hans A. Diehl, DrHSc, MPH, FACN, CNS

Copyright © 2004, by Weight Loss Buddy Press

May be reproduced and distributed as is.

Joey Dweck- your Weight Loss Buddy

http://weightlossbuddy.com

PO Box 488 Tenafly NJ 07670

Tel. 877-BuddyUp

Written By: Joey Dweck

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