Heart Health

Heart Health

Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. Ephesians 3:17

Over the past thirty years, cardiology has changed more than any specialty I’ve seen.

During the 1980s, the idea of angioplasty was developed. This procedure calls for passing a narrow tube, called a catheter, up to the heart through an artery in the groin. From the digital pictures it provides, cardiologists can see whether everything is working properly.

If there is a blockage, doctors can use a procedure called balloon angioplasty, in which a small balloon is inserted into the catheter and threaded along until it reaches the clogged vessel. There, it is inflated to flatten the plaque that is causing the blockage and help increase blood flow.

Later, stents were developed and introduced to keep blocked arteries open long term. The stent uses a small, metal mesh tube that acts like a scaffold to provide support for a blocked blood vessel.

These are just a couple of examples of the new technologies and medical devices that are now available to keep the heart alive. When I hear about each new development, I’m reminded of something a very wise heart surgeon once told me: “Protect your heart; you’ve only got one!”

I think the writers of the Bible could relate to that statement. Perhaps that’s why they use this vital organ so often as a metaphor for spiritual things. Our physical strength is derived from our heart. When the heart malfunctions, everything else starts to fail. Spiritually speaking, our heart is also central to our spiritual strength. If Jesus lives in our hearts, it seems that everything else—mind, body, and soul—works together in harmony. This allows our love for God, and for others, to grow rich and strong.

TODAY’S RX

Protect your heart (physically and spiritually). You’ve only got one!

Make your home in my heart, Lord. I offer it to you.