The Children’s Hour ‘hearts’ our listeners! On this episode, we talk all about the amazing organ that keeps us all alive: the heart! We talk to pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist Dr. Sally Vender about how the heart works when we exercise, play, and sleep. We also learn about what can happen when the heart doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. This episode comes with a free downloadable learning guide and lots of great heart-themed music.

This episode comes with a free Learning Guide.

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Hold your hand against your chest. Do you feel something thumping? That’s your heart! It’s an organ in your body that keeps you alive. Today, we’re learning all about the heart with Dr. Sally Vender, medical director and pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist at Presbyterian Health in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The heart is responsible for pumping blood throughout the body. Once blood picks up oxygen in the lungs, the heart distributes this oxygenated blood to the brain and the rest of the body.

This energized blood helps allow us to think and move! Once we’ve used the oxygen, the heart cycles the deoxygenated blood back through the lungs to repeat the process. 

The heart is a muscle, but unlike some of the other muscles in our bodies, we don’t have to think about our hearts in order to make them work. The heart is part of the involuntary nervous system, so your brain sends signals to make your heart pump automatically. 

Did you know that your heart adapts to what you’re doing? It’s true! When you’re exercising, the muscles in your body require a lot more energy than normal. To meet this demand, your heart beats faster to increase the amount of oxygenated blood pumped to the muscles. Likewise, your heart recognizes when you’re resting and slows down. 

Sometimes, your heart can have trouble pumping blood through the body. This can be caused by things like drinking a lot of caffeine or vessels near your heart getting clogged. To keep your heart healthy for a long time, it’s important to eat healthy foods and get plenty of exercise.

This episode of The Children’s Hour was written and produced by our senior intern, Thaniel Lentz, executive producer Katie Stone, with production support from McKenzie Graunke, our intern Isaac Lacerda, Samantha Diatz, and producer Sarah Gabrielli. Amber Shiel writes our learning guides

The Children’s Hour is distributed by Native Voice One: The Native American Radio Network.

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