Show That Body of yours by JAMES JAIMES W BARTON na M D living safely with heart disease N th tha e fa tact et 1 that thousands of men w with 1 th leaking valves in the heart fought in the war without difficulty and notwithstanding that thousands of f individuals with leaking valves 11 live v to a good age there are still a great many who worry because they have title this condition the leak in the valve has been caused by some ailment scarlet fever rheumatism or others which left the tha little valve with an escal loped edge instead of one that was smooth and well fitting naturally Katura lly when the valve Is closed a little blood Is going to flow back through these small openings at the edge of the valve but it if the heart continues to pump enough blood despite this little leak what difference does it make to all your tissues suese it Is just like a pump that leaks year in and year out but still supplies all the water the household needs therefore physicians do not talk v very ery mu much ch about leaks in the heart but talk rather about the strength of the heart muscle and try to measure its ability to do the necessary work rind and how low long it la Is likely to continue to do this necessary work the individual then who has a heart leak can go along in his usual manner and feel safe as far as his life Is concerned As you know the first sign of a failing heart Is 13 shortness of breath getting out of breath doing little tasks that formerly did not cause this breathlessness now what can the individual do who finds that he is getting breathless on slight exertion ile he should first see sec his doctor as this r shortness horan ess of breath way may be due to an acidosis acl dosis in the system or to a failing heart it if it Is due to acidosis then less food and more exercise may be necessary it if due to a failing heart the physician will advise as to health habits in regard to amounts of exer else cise that may be taken the necessity s of one or two rest periods during the day and the need of resting the mind as well as the body in other words as the ability of the pump heart to do work has lessened then the individual must simply lessen the needs of his bis body for blood by resting more in ID this way he be can lie safely hot weather eating HER are two mistakes many tor THERE of us make during warm weather the first is eating too much or at the wrong time and the other Is not eating enough some time ago I 1 quoted dr W C alvarez of the mnyo clinic and it Is worth remembering on trips to the mountains I 1 have hare noticed that tile the man who comes into camp hungry from an exhausting climb and immediately sits down to a heavy meal will occasionally surfer suffer afterwards for several days with abdominal pain gas pressure and diarrhoea this Is due to the fact that the tiredness dried up all the important ferments that digest the food and prevent decomposition or spoiling of food when it if Is taken into the body similarly in hot weather the heat has tired or exhausted you temporarily and when you yon eat there Is no digestion taking place for some time thus allowing the formation of gas with pain from gas pressure the thought then Is that instead of sitting down at once to a meal that you lie ile down quietly on the right side for a few minutes until you are somewhat rested and then eat some food your whole body will be rested and the digestive organs more able to pour out their digestive juices thus enabling you to digest your food properly instead of suffering pain which you naturally think Is due to some bad or tainted food you have eaten what about not eating enough food in the hot weather should you not eat less in the hot weather anyway As a matter of fact you should eat a little less food in ID the hot weather but really only a very little littie less the reason that you should eat almost as much food in 1 the hot as aa in the cold weather Is because the processes of the body your muscles your heart your blood 3 your our lungs all have about tile the same amount of work to do all seasons of the year A very small amount of food la Is needed extra during the cold weather to create heat remember then dont eat when you are very hot or tired rest a while first remember member Ite also that you need almost as much food in the warm as in the cold weather copyright w service |