Whether you celebrate Valentine's Day with a loved one or a cold bowl of cereal, most people recognize that it is a day enveloped by love and affection. Besides the cinnamon sweets and flower deliveries, you are likely to see images of the heart. Metaphorically, the heart is commonly believed to be the center of our feelings. While we have learned that our brain actually plays a bigger role in our emotions, the heart is still one of the most important organs for our survival.
That being said, here are 10 interesting facts about your heart.
1. Your heart likes sex.
Sex is good for your heart. A recent study showed that men who engaged in sexual intercourse at least twice a week were significantly less likely to develop heart disease or suffer heart attacks. What about heart attacks that occur during sex? Sex-induced heart attacks are actually rare, and have been mainly attributed to stress and anxiety. In fact, it has been suggested that if you can walk up a flight of stairs briskly, ...
After a physical examination, a man finds out his cholesterol is slightly high. The doctor tells him that it is not yet bad enough to require medication, but tells him to do at least 15 minutes of “heavy breathing exercise” a day. Feeling pretty lucky, the man goes home and tells his wife suggestively how she can help him get his exercise. She promptly gets on the phone and enrolls him in a kickboxing class. Feeling rejected, the man explains to her that he had something else in mind to help him get his exercise. She replies back that the doctor said, “it has to last at least fifteen minutes!”
Although humorous, this short anecdote highlights a number of truths about cholesterol.
First, cholesterol levels rise naturally over time and cholesterol affects almost everyone at some point in their lives. In fact, most doctors recommend that you should have your cholesterol levels checked at least once every five years starting at just 20 years old. For men aged 35, ...
