Healthy Hearts

Artwork of a human heart

What Is a Heart?

Place your hand on the left side of your chest. Do you feel anything? Try again after exercising. Do you feel it now? That’s your heart! Your heart is a muscle. Exercise makes it beat faster. Sometimes your heartbeat is easier to feel after exercise.

A heart is an organ inside you made of muscle. Breathing puts oxygen into your blood. Your heart pumps blood and pushes it through your body. Your heart makes sure that blood and oxygen reach every part of your body.

Healthy Hearts

Blood travels through your body in tiny tubes, or vessels. Eating too many unhealthy foods can clog vessels. This makes it hard for your heart to pump. It is like trying to squeeze through a crowded hallway!

You can help your heart by eating healthful foods like fruits and vegetables. This keeps your vessels clean. It is easier for your heart to pump blood through a clean vessel. Picture running through an empty hallway.

Speaking of running, exercise also helps keep your heart healthy. Your heart is a muscle. Exercise makes muscles stronger!

What Can You Do? What kind of exercise can you do to keep your heart healthy?

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