OBJECTIVES: 1. Understand why the heart is important 2. The role of blood vessels 3. What can go wrong with the heart?

INDIANA STANDARDS(Grades 6-8).1.1 Examine how healthy behaviors influence personal health.(Grades 6-8).2.1 Describe how family values and behaviors influence the health of adolescents.(Grades 6-8).5.6 Choose healthy choices over unhealthy choices when making a decision.(Grades 6-8).7.2 Describe healthy practices and behaviors that will maintain or improve the health of self and others.

INDIANA CONTENT STANDARDS:Math/ DATA ANALYSIS, STATISTICS, AND PROBABILITY: 7.DSP.4: Make observations about the degree of visual overlap of two numerical data distributions represented in line plots or box plots. Describe how data, particularly outliers, added to a data set may affect the mean and/or median.FCS FCS-MS 3.2.3: Examine factors and issues that impact current and future health and wellness, including wellness issues (for example, calcium/osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, eating disorders, cardio-vascular health)

TEACHER TALKING POINTSWhy the heart is important • In an average lifetime, the heart beats more than 2½ billion times without ever resting. • Your heart is a muscle that beats without your control; it is called an involuntary muscle. • The body cannot function without oxygen and your heart works with the lungs to provide oxygen to the entire body. • Blood is pumped through the right side of the heart to the lungs to get oxygen and then the blood is pumped through the left side of the heart to the rest of the body.

The Role of Blood Vessels • Blood vessels carrying blood away from the heart are called arteries. They are the thickest blood vessels and their walls contract to keep the blood moving away from the heart and through the body. The oxygen-rich blood is pumped from the heart into the aorta. • The aorta curves up and back from the left ventricle, then heads down in front of the spinal column into the abdomen. • Two coronary arteries branch off at the beginning of the aorta and divide into a network of smaller arteries that provide oxygen and nourishment to the muscles of the heart. • The body’s other main artery, the pulmonary artery, carries oxygen-poor blood. From the right ventricle, the pulmonary artery divides into right and left branches, on the way to the lungs where blood picks up oxygen.

PROTECT YOUR RED ZONE! THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR HEART’S HEALTH

LESSON 11MIDDLE SCHOOL LESSON

• Blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart are called veins. They are not as muscular as arteries, but they contain valves that prevent blood from flowing backward. • The two largest veins are the superior and inferior vena cavae. • A network of tiny capillaries connects the arteries and veins. Even though they’re tiny, the capillaries are one of the most important parts of the circulatory system because it is through them that nutrients and oxygen are delivered to the cells.

What Can Go Wrong with the Heart?Problems with the cardiovascular system are not as rare as you’d think. In fact, more than 64 million Americans have some type of cardiac problem. The other surprising fact is that heart problems don’t just affect older people — many heart and circulatory system problems affect teens, too. • Heart and circulatory problems are grouped into two categories: congenital, which means the problems were present at birth, and acquired, which means that the problems developed some time after birth. • Congenital heart defects. Congenital heart defects are heart problems that babies have at birth and occur while a baby is developing in the mother’s uterus. Doctors don’t always know why congenital heart defects occur — some congenital heart defects are caused by genetic disorders, but most are not. A common sign of a congenital heart defect is a heart murmur. A heart murmur is an abnormal sound (like a blowing or whooshing sound) that’s heard when listening to the heart. Lots of kids and teens have heart murmurs, which can be caused by congenital heart defects or other heart conditions. • Arrhythmia. Cardiac arrhythmias, which are also called rhythm disorders, are problems in the rhythm of the heartbeat. Arrhythmias may be caused by a congenital heart defect or a person may develop this condition later. An arrhythmia may cause the heart’s rhythm to be irregular, abnormally fast, or abnormally slow. Arrhythmias can happen at any age and may be discovered when a teen has a checkup. • Cardiomyopathy. This is a long-lasting disease that causes the heart muscle to become weakened. Some kids and teens with cardiomyopathy may receive heart transplants to treat their condition. • Rheumatic heart disease. Teens who have had strep throat infection may develop rheumatic fever. This type of infection can cause permanent heart problems, mostly in people between 5 and 15 years of age. People who’ve had strep throat and received antibiotics right away are unlikely to develop this problem.

STUDENT ACTIVITY Did you know that just like the color of our eyes or how tall we are, other things like health conditions can be passed down genetically from one family member to another? It is important to know what health conditions and diseases are in our family history so that we can make healthy choices to help reduce our risk for getting those conditions ourselves. On the following page is a family tree for you to complete, along with your parents, to identify health conditions within your family.

MY FAMILY HEALTH TREE

Grandfather Grandmother Grandfather Grandmother

Aunt Uncle

Aunt Uncle

Aunt Uncle

Aunt Uncle

Aunt Uncle

Aunt Uncle

Aunt Uncle

Aunt Uncle

Mom Dad

Brother SisterBrother SisterMe

Use this tree to discover which health conditions, like heart disease, may be in your family. With the help of your mom or dad, fill in the boxes with the health conditions of your blood relatives. Be sure to complete both sides of the family. By knowing which health conditions and diseases are in your family, you can make the right healthy choices to help prevent those conditions from being passed down to you. Post your completed family tree on the refridgerator to remind you and your family of the importance of making healthy choices.

PARENT INFORMATIONAccording to the American Heart Association, we can all make some modest lifestyle and behavioral changes in an effort to improve our health. In a February 2014 HEART Insight article, two of those changes are a physical activity program and a healthy diet.

Getting started on your physical activity plan….By making a choice to get up and move, you’ll be getting quite a few benefits: People who are physically active typically eat healthier and smoke less, report less stress and feel better about their lives in general. Yet 80 percent of Americans don’t get the physical activity they need.

Before starting any type of physical activity program, it’s a good idea to visit your healthcare provider and get a baseline health screening to make sure you’re healthy enough for physical activity. Once you get the okay from your doctor, start out by taking a walk. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes, and gradually build up to at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity (like brisk walking) on most or all days of the week.

Remember that exercise doesn’t have to be a scheduled event. Look for ways during your day to be more active–take the stairs instead of the elevator, park a bit farther away from the front door of the office, walk the dog after dinner a few times a day and take regular “brain breaks” during your work day. The important thing is to incorporate physical activity into your life whenever you can and keep it up!

Guidelines for healthy eatingAdvice about “healthy eating” is everywhere, but what exactly does that mean? Having a list of guidelines can help you pick foods that will fight heart disease. The AHA’s Heart Healthy Diet Recommendations include the following, based on a 2,000-calorie per day diet: • Balance the number of calories you eat with physical activity to maintain a healthy weight. Don’t eat more calories than you need. • Try to eat 9 to 10 servings, or 4½ cups, of fruits and vegetables every day. They’re high in fiber, vitamins and minerals and low in calories. • Choose whole grains and high-fiber foods, and try to eat three 1-ounce servings every day. Fiber can help you feel full longer so you don’t give in to cravings! • Twice a week, make it a point to eat fish like salmon or albacore tuna to get healthy omega-3 fatty acids in your diet. • Choose lean meats, select fat-free (skim), 1 percent or low-fat dairy products and avoid hydrogenated fats like margarine, shortening, cooking oils and foods made with them. A good guideline: A person needing 2,000 calories per day should consume less than 16 grams of saturated fat, less than 2 grams of trans fat and between 50 and 70 grams of total fat. Limit cholesterol to no more than 300 milligrams each day.

• Limit the amount of added sugars you eat. A good guideline: No more than 100 calories from sugar each day for women (about six teaspoons/day), 150 calories for men (about nine teaspoons/day). • Aim to keep your sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams or less each day to keep your blood pressure in check. Limit processed meats like cold cuts, sausage and hot dogs to fewer than two servings a week. • Try to eat four servings of nuts, legumes and beans each week. • Consume alcohol in moderation–one drink per day for women, one to two for men. • When eating out, pay attention to portion sizes and calorie counts.