{"id":2827,"date":"2017-07-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/heart-structure\/"},"modified":"2022-08-18T11:03:47","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T09:03:47","slug":"heart-structure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/personal-fitness-training-blog\/heart-structure\/","title":{"rendered":"How is the heart structured?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Next to the <strong>brain,<\/strong> the <strong>heart<\/strong> is the most important organ of the <strong>body<\/strong> as it is responsible for pumping <strong>blood<\/strong> \u2013 which supplies <strong>oxygen<\/strong> and <strong>nutrients<\/strong> to the body\u2019s tissues \u2013 throughout the <strong>body.<\/strong> The vessels that are responsible for transporting the <strong>blood<\/strong> are called <strong>veins<\/strong> and <strong>arteries.<\/strong> If these transporters become damaged, very serious diseases could result.\u00a0This could\u00a0ultimately end in death.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The structure of the heart<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This organ is surrounded by a very thick layer to protect its delicate inner workings. These layers are called:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Inner endocardium<\/li>\n<li>Middle myocardium<\/li>\n<li>Outer epicardium<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is divided into two. Each section is divided into two chambers which have an <strong>atrium<\/strong> as well as a <strong>ventricle:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Atria:<\/em> The right <strong>atrium<\/strong> collects deoxygenated <strong>blood<\/strong> that is returned from the <strong>lungs<\/strong> while the left <strong>atrium<\/strong> gathers reoxygenated <strong>blood<\/strong> coming from the lungs to the heart.<\/li>\n<li><em>Ventricles:<\/em> The right <strong>ventricle<\/strong> receives deoxygenated <strong>blood<\/strong> from the right atrium and pumps it to the <strong>lungs<\/strong> to be reoxygenated. The\u00a0 left ventricle receives oxygenated blood from the left atrium and pumps it into the arteries which will distribute it to the entire body.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What is \u2018heart disease\u2019?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>When people talk about this type of disease, the <strong>heart<\/strong> itself doesn\u2019t contract a virus or a bacteria.\u00a0 What happens is that the blood vessels transporting blood to and from the heart become blocked.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most common is coronary <strong>heart<\/strong> disease. Says Dr <a href=\"http:\/\/www.medicinenet.com\/heart_disease_coronary_artery_disease\/article.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Benjamin Wedro<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cCoronary artery disease occurs when there is a build-up of cholesterol plaque inside the artery walls. Over time, this build-up of plaque may partially block the artery and decrease blood flow through it. A heart attack occurs when a plaque ruptures and forms a clot in the artery causing a complete blockage. That part of the heart muscle that is denied blood supply starts to die.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>How to eat to keep your heart healthy<\/h2>\n<p>To keep your heart healthy, you need to take in a variety of vitamins and nutrients that will keep heart disease &#8211; and other nasty ailments &#8211; at bay.<\/p>\n<p>Says Julie Zumpano, RD, LD, a dietitian in the Preventive Cardiology and Nutrition Program at Cleveland Clinic in an article entitled <a href=\"https:\/\/health.clevelandclinic.org\/2015\/01\/15-heart-healthy-foods-to-work-into-your-diet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>15 Heart-Healthy Foods to Work into Your Diet<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cYou can definitely reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease by eating certain foods every day. There is a great variety of fruits and vegetables that are good for your heart. Try to eat foods that are in their natural form, as they come from the ground.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Julie recommends the following heart-healthy foods:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fish high in omega-3s, for example\u00a0salmon,<\/li>\n<li>A handful of healthy nuts such as walnuts,<\/li>\n<li>Berries, for example blueberries, strawberries, cranberries or raspberries in cereal or yoghurt,<\/li>\n<li>Flaxseeds,<\/li>\n<li>Oatmeal,<\/li>\n<li>Dark beans, for example\u00a0kidney or black beans which\u00a0are high in fiber, B-vitamins and minerals,<\/li>\n<li>Marinated tofu,<\/li>\n<li>Red, yellow and orange veggies such as carrots, sweet potatoes, red peppers and acorn squash,<\/li>\n<li>Spinach,<\/li>\n<li>Oranges, cantaloupes and papaya,<\/li>\n<li>Asparagus,<\/li>\n<li>Tomatoes,<\/li>\n<li>Dark chocolate, and<\/li>\n<li>Broccoli florets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The video below will show you everything that you need to know about maintaining a healthy heart nutrition wise.<\/p>\n<h2>Do the following for good heart health<\/h2>\n<p>If you are serious about wanting to maintain good nutrition practices, or to teach others about sticking to a good and healthy diet, why don&#8217;t you sign up for Trifocus Fitness Academy&#8217;s Specialised Nutrition Course? On this qualification, you&#8217;ll learn everything from how to work with the various micro- and macronutrients to how to draw up a specialised eating plan for them.<\/p>\n<p>Modules include:<\/p>\n<p><em>Fundamental nutrition<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0 How to design a nutritional plan for clients.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Discover how to learn how to read and interpret food labels.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Get to know how to give advice on nutritional supplements.<\/p>\n<p><em>Fundamentals of the GI<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0 Learn what GI is.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Discover the difference between \u2018low GI\u2019 and \u2018high GI foods\u2019.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Learn\u00a0how to manage metabolic diseases using the GI Index.<\/p>\n<p><em>Specialised populations nutrition<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Unpack\u00a0the nutritional needs of special populations.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Advise special populations on their nutritional requirements.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Learn to identify the symptoms of female athlete tri-ad syndrome.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sports nutrition<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0 Explain the science behind eating and sports.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Assemble an eating plan for sports people.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Be able to discuss the effects of drugs on sports.<\/p>\n<p><em>Youth and nutrition<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0 Learn what the optimal nutritional needs of children are.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Discover how to assess if a child is being nourished correctly.<br \/>\n\u2022\u00a0 Design an eating plan that is suitable for a particular child.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/course\/nutrition-courses\/specialised-nutrition\/\">Click here <\/a>to find out about this course.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cSTVxTGoT0Y\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It is essential for a <strong>personal trainer<\/strong> to know about corornary <strong>heart<\/strong> disease as well as the signs and symptoms of such because if a person who they are training displays these they will need to know what course of action to take.<strong> Trifocus Fitness Academy<\/strong>\u2019<strong>s<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/course\/specialised-courses\/personal-training-diploma\/\"><strong>Personal Training Diploma<\/strong> <\/a>provides such in-depth and detailed information so you, as a <strong>personal trainer<\/strong>, will be able to train your clients\u2019 to the best of your ability. Click <a href=\"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/course\/specialised-courses\/personal-training-diploma\/\">here <\/a>to learn more about the course.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GwPIM1CQ_r8\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Next to the brain, the heart is the most important organ of the body as it is responsible for pumping blood \u2013 which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the body\u2019s tissues \u2013 throughout the body. The vessels that are responsible for transporting the blood are called veins and arteries. If these transporters become damaged, very&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2116],"tags":[955,956,957,98,305,109,958,269,466,18,100,45,959,960],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2827"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trifocusfitnessacademy.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}