Complex Numbers

Cardio

Another one for "Journalistic Intentions"  [18+]

Cardio

A friend of mine had this hypothesis: that our hearts can only beat a certain number of times, programmed by genetics or God or the universe or whatever, after which they just give out. The actual number is, of course, different for everyone, but usually on the order of 10⁹ beats.

Certain things speed up heart rate: too much caffeine (if there is such a thing), stress, panic, and exercise, to name a few. This, according to his hypothesis, has the effect of shortening one's lifespan, as it's compressing more heartbeats into a given unit of time. So he tried to control these heart-rate-increasing situations as much as possible, mostly by not exercising.

Most of the medical community disagrees with him, but I trot that out whenever a doctor tells me I should get more exercise, which is every time I talk to a doctor.

I don't actually believe his hypothesis, myself, but why take the chance?

Haven't seen him in a while; we started moving (very slowly) in different circles. He's several years older than I am, and approaching that 10⁹ heartbeats number now, so I hope he was right.