Most of us don't think about our heart much. As long as this mysterious beating organ is doing its job in keeping us alive and breathing we tend not to have cause to even give it a second thought. And yet we should give our heart health some thought as heart disease is not just a condition that strikes older people.

Like so many other diseases that used to be the sole domain of older people heart disease is now making a play for people of much younger ages that you would expect. Heart disease is the number one killer in the developed world and now accounts for 40% of all deaths.

One of the reasons that many people may ignore the possibility of developing this villain is that it is a gradual, lifelong process that people can not see or feel. Heart disease doesn't happen out of the blue and that is why you need to give the health of your heart the attention it deserves.

We used to think that if our blood pressure was raised it was just part of getting older, nothing we could do about it. But now we know that it is not caused by passing birthdays but is in fact an indicator of silently advancing disease.

This raised pressure is the cause of much of the trouble that leads to heart disease. It starts in the arteries, the tubes that carry the blood and allow it to flow to the body's organs, cells and tissues. Fatty deposits clog and narrow these tubes restricting blood flow and placing additional permanent strain on the heart system and damaging the walls of these plumbing pipes.

The best protection you can give yourself is to strengthen your whole body which includes the heart. After all this mother of all muscles responds to proper exercise just the same as every other muscle in your body ? it thrives on it, growing stronger and more efficient.

Taking the time to strengthen the heart is like buying health insurance. Instead of money paid the required premium is a regular installment of exercise. The type of exercise has to be right though to properly condition the heart. Strength training exercise is the magic bullet that will beef up the strength and resilience of the heart muscle protecting it from disease.

As your overall strength improves your heart will become more efficient and this can be measured by a reduced or slower resting heart rate. This is the number of heartbeats per minute taken when you first wake up and before you get up in the morning.

If you can reduce this number by 10 beats per minute and you will with increased fitness, each day you will save your heart approximately 14,000 beats per day. This is where you can get increased longevity from a proper exercise program which will not only add more active and productive years to your life but lots of life to your years.

To properly condition your heart the exercise program need to be performed at the correct level of intensity. Don't think a gentle stroll is going to do it as it won't even come close. Seek the help of a fitness professional so they can teach you correct exercise technique and also the correct level of intensity (degree of difficulty). This is important so that you get expected results and are not just hoping for them.

Strength training will make your muscles stronger so they can act like auxiliary pumps, their firmness helping squeeze blood back to the heart every time your move. This means there is less of a demand placed on the heart. This extra strength helps the heart function more efficiently when placed under a load such as lifting or carrying objects or during vigorous activity.

If you plan on living a long time and wish to be active and well beyond your eighties you need to take care of your 'ticker'. Don't just assume it is healthy just because it keeps on beating. Remember each time you workout at your exercise program it gets a workout as well. And this is the recipe to keep you and it strong and healthy.