Your cardiovascular system is made to be resilient and to adjust to various conditions throughout your day and throughout your life. Consisting of the heart, arteries, veins, and capillaries, it is amazing in both its extent and its durability. Your heart beats about 100,000 times a day, more than 2.5 billion times in an average lifetime, circulating your blood through the 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body. And it does all that three times a minute. Your blood carries nutrients and oxygen to all the tissues of your body and removes carbon dioxide and other wastes from them. If you take care of yourself, your heart and blood vessels can be in excellent condition and continue to do this incredible work even as you grow older. Although genetics certainly plays a part in your health, more important are the choices you make through the years about diet, health habits, and exercise.

Healthy Arteries
A healthy artery is flexible, like a rubber tube. Arteries are composed of three distinct layers. The outermost layer is made up mostly of collagen. The middle layer, which is thicker than the other two layers, is made up of elastic fibers and smooth muscle. The inner layer is made of endothelial cells and is smooth so that blood can flow through it freely. When you exercise, more blood needs to be pumped to your body's tissues and organs. A healthy, elastic artery can dilate to permit additional blood flow. Even your red blood cells are flexible, so that they can squeeze through tiny capillaries.

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