Show !I®W TTGD the old proverb that not appreciate his good health until he loses it This truth can be applied to the heart as well as to any other organs in the body but how to guard the heart is in many instances the $64 question It happens that we doctors and you laymen pay much more attention to disease than we do to health In ancient days when very little was known about disease there was more concentration than there is today oh rules or maintaining health Some of these rules are fbund in the Bible some are found in the writings of the early Greek physicians and some appeared in medieval times Although their rules were based on methods we have yet to find better ones great imperialist lays down some simple rules — and tells the real truth about smoking drinking eating and exereise A is much in Thfredoes trial-and-err- Tk ltkraul In the first place it b very important to recognize that there b a wide range of the YdDlUGG GGGSM&TT (GIMIMD Ity Paul IK White 31 IK tlfCITIVt DIICCTM NMIONIl IlflStll No two persons are exactly alike Even identical twins differ in their electrocardiograms as to the size and shape of their hearts their pulse rate and their Wood pressures runners have pulses Certain not infrequently in the lower 40’s per minute On the other hand I flave myself examined a marathoner who standing quietly but nervously at the starting point of the Boston Marathon some years ago normal in every detail long-distan- ce MIIT COMCIl f'f 'k dL before the gun had a pulse rate of 118 When I examined him at the finish of the e race his heart rate was slower by about 10 beats I would suggest therefore that it is well for a healthy person while still in young adulthood to know his own range of pulse rate when quiet and when active his own readings (which he can obtain from his family doctor) and even his electrocardiogram and chest 26-mil- blood-pressu- re heart measurements I have often regretted I did not have such records available when I have examined certain new patients that Exercise We still know much too little abotn exercise but it is well established that a certain amount will improve health and quite probably increase longevity The circulation is improved by it The heart is not the only factor in maintaining a good circulation although it is of course the major one Very important are a normal elasticity of the great arteries good nerve control of the smaller arteries and good skeletal muscle tone to compress the veins of the legs and arms to aid the return of blood to the thorax and heart Free and active motion of the diaphragm through proper exercise which may even be simply that of daily periods of deep breathing is also important in helping Continued on page 25 7 |