Tears filled my eyes as I watched the veterinarian put our 18-year-old cat, Callie, to sleep. Insisting on being part of it, my youngest son, Nathan, clung to my neck. One of my older daughters had already retreated to the car, unable to watch. Callie had been part of our lives for as long as I could remember, and my heart was breaking for my children, who would dearly miss her.

The human heart beats approximately 2.5 billion times during a person’s lifetime. The normal heart rate is 60-100 beats per minute. The average female rate is 75 beats per minute.
When your doctor puts the stethoscope to your chest, he/she listens for the normal “lub-dub” sound the heart makes and is able to tell if the heart rate is too fast or slow, and if there are abnormal sounds which may indicate certain disease processes.

My kids love to do crafts. My oldest starts begging just as soon as the seatbelts unbuckle in the Hobby Lobby parking lot; “please, please, Momma, let’s go down the art project aisle!”
Nothing spells wonderfully challenging like doing art projects with a barely two-year-old who wants to be (and earnestly thinks he is) just as capable of doing as much as his 5-year-old brother. Things really get interesting when we purchase one art project to complete as a team. Art project kits cost money and sometimes sharing is a necessity!

Some heart attacks are sudden and intense, but most of them start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often the people affected aren’t sure what’s wrong and wait too long before getting help. Here are some of the signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:
CHEST DISCOMFORT
Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
DISCOMFORT IN OTHER AREAS OF THE UPPER BODY