CHEST PAIN

What is chest pain?
Chest pain is discomfort or pain that you feel anywhere along the front of your body between your neck and upper abdomen. This part of the body has the outer cage made up of the muscles, nerves, skin, bones and cartilage, and the protected soft, inner parts consisting the heart with its wrappings and major blood vessels, the lungs with its wrappings and air pipes, the oesophagus and the biggest blood vessels (Aorta, pulmonary artery and accompanying veins). Something going wrong in any of these body parts can cause chest pain.

***In children, chest pain is most often not caused by problems with the heart.

Causes of Chest Pain Not related to the HEART:

Chest wall pain:

• Bad posture
• Unusual exercise
• Repetitive action, anxiety or rapid breathing
• Inflammation of the ribs/ cartilage and joints
• Trauma Herpes zooster

Lungs:

• Infections /inflammations
• Blood clot to the lungs
• Damage to / ballooning of great vessels [aortic aneurism]

Digestive system:

• Ulcer of the stomach,
• Acid reflux from the stomach,
• Gas (indigestion)Gall stones

Sudden pain or discomfort in the chest can be a frightening experience not just for the person concerned but also for family, friend and work colleagues. Even though causes vary from life threatening ones like heart attack to mildly inconvenient things like indigestion, chest pain should never be taken casually. This is especially true in people who have diabetes, hypertension or other risk factors for heart disease, including over weight.Early presentation at the clinic for proper evaluation just might save a life, so do not hesitate to call for help if you think you or someone might be having a heart attack.

Remember;

With Heart Attack every minute counts.

Have a blessed life.

Wounded, But Still Fighting

That's a hero. Someone who's been wounded - even badly wounded - and they still keep fighting. That's what spiritual heroes do, too. You may be one of them. Or you may be in a position to rise to be one right now.
There's no greater example of this wounded but fighting kind of warrior than the great Apostle Paul. Listen to his powerful personal testimony, recorded for us in II Corinthians 4, beginning with verse 8, our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." He continues his testimony in chapter 6 with this report: "As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger ... dying, yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything."
I read this and ask myself, "So what's your excuse, Ola?" Paul had been wounded over and over again - deeply wounded, but he's still in there fighting just like Jesus. Just like so many of His followers over the years who've been bloodied, but unbowed.
Sadly, some of us get wounded and we don't respond like, in Paul's words, "good soldiers of Jesus Christ" (II Timothy 2:1). It's all too easy to respond to being hit with self-pity and self-centeredness. It's the "poor me" thing, which simply focuses you on your wounds, letting them define who you are and even how you treat others. Some respond with bitterness and anger and stinky attitudes. Others get wounded and they start shutting down or giving up.
But a spiritual warrior realizes that the fight is more important than his feelings; the cause is more important than my condition. It could be that your wounds have made you start to give up the fight. Don't do it. Keep fighting for your marriage, keep fighting for that child of yours, keep fighting for the hard hearts you've been praying for, keep fighting for that ministry, that church, that calling from God. You serve a Savior who was attacked, brutalized and crushed, and yet He refused to turn back until He'd won the battle for your soul. Yes, you're wounded, but keep fighting. One day the battle will be over. You'll be home, and you will be rewarded by the King of all kings.

****Thanks to Olaitan for the above inspiration.

"The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."

*** Jack London

The Power of Love

The spiritual power of love is something that we hear about, but have we had the opportunity to really understand its meaning? Sometimes this can become confusing, as we mistake spiritual love for other forms.
Spiritual love is not a sentimental cloying where our need is to possess. It isn't the chemistry of lust or pheromones that cause us to act on instinct. Spiritual love is a combination of the heart and mind, unselfishly acting on the behalf of another. I emphasize "unselfishly" here, because there is no room for a hidden agenda with spiritual love.
Spiritual love has as its primary intention, the well-being of that which it is directed towards. It is far less important what one receives from the love object, than what one is able to give. It is a more detached love, more objective than what we normally experience in our daily relationships. Although we can put plenty of "heart" into it, we lose nothing by giving it away. We needn't have the love returned, no one is under any obligation, etc.
So, why does this have such power? Perhaps it is because this is the purest form of energy we can project as spiritual beings. Being free from attachment or expectation, yet full of caring and compassion, there is a healing power inherent in it which is capable of deep transformation for both the sender and the recipient.
Also, we are told that this is the creative energy which brought us into being from our Source. This is the functional nature of the Divine. It certainly makes sense, as this is the good stuff which can breathe new life into a soul who is going under for the last time.
The greatest saints, masters and teachers of our history are known primarily for their expression of this intangible, yet powerful quality. From their expression of spiritual love, sprang miracles.
Recently, someone wrote to me and said that common sense told her that we could not bless others. I disagree. Through the power of this golden energy, we shower those around us with the most magnificent blessings the human spirit can imagine. This is the truest power there is.
PURE LOVE

"Pure love is a willingness to give without a thought of receiving anything in return."