Health Explained

Short animated guides to how your body works, what can go wrong, and what you can do about it. Free to watch, in plain language, with the sources for every claim.

In an emergency, call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number.

• Atrial Fibrillation, Explained

  when the heartbeat loses its rhythm

  Heart health · animated video, 5:05

  What happens in atrial fibrillation (AFib), how it can feel, why it raises stroke risk, how it's found and treated, and what you can do.

• Why Sleep Matters

  what happens while you rest

  Prevention · animated video, 4:54

  How your body clock and sleep pressure time your sleep, what deep and REM sleep do, how much adults need, and simple habits for better rest.

• Heart Failure, Explained

  when the pump can't keep up

  Heart health · animated video, 4:27

  Heart failure doesn't mean the heart has stopped. Learn why the pump can't keep up, the signs of fluid build-up, and the treatment and daily care that help.

• Choking

  how to help an adult who can't breathe

  Emergencies · animated video, 4:41

  If an adult can't speak, cough or breathe, call 9-1-1 and give 5 back blows, then 5 abdominal thrusts. Here's how choking happens and how to help.

• Asthma, Explained

  what's happening in your airways

  Lung health · animated video, 4:08

  What happens inside your airways during asthma, the common signs and triggers, how preventer and reliever inhalers work, and when to call 9-1-1.

• Anaphylaxis

  when an allergy becomes an emergency

  Emergencies · animated video, 4:10

  Anaphylaxis is a severe, whole-body allergic reaction. Learn why it happens, the signs to watch for, and how to use an epinephrine auto-injector.

• What Exercise Does for Your Body

  and how much you really need

  Prevention · animated video, 4:38

  Follow your body on a brisk walk: what happens to your heart, lungs, muscles and brain, the long-term benefits, and how much activity you really need.

• How Your Digestive System Works

  from first bite to last

  How the body works · animated video, 4:46

  Follow one meal from mouth to stomach, small and large intestine: how food is digested and absorbed, signs to see a doctor, and ways to keep your gut healthy.

• How Your Brain Works

  86 billion cells, one you

  Brain health · animated video, 4:45

  How your brain's 86 billion neurons send signals, what each part of the brain does, how it rewires as you learn, and the everyday habits that help protect it.

• Cancer Screening, Explained

  finding problems before they start

  Prevention · animated video, 4:39

  What cancer screening is, the four main proven programs, the honest trade-offs, why symptoms need a doctor now, and how prevention and screening work together.

• How Your Kidneys Work

  your body's filters

  How the body works · animated video, 4:24

  How your kidneys filter your blood, what else they do, why kidney disease is often silent, and simple ways to protect them.

• How a Stroke Happens

  and how to spot one fast

  Brain health · animated video, 4:26

  What happens in the brain during a stroke, the warning a TIA gives, how to spot a stroke with FAST, and what you can do to lower your risk.

• Hands-Only CPR

  how to help save a life

  Emergencies · animated video, 4:23

  If a teen or adult collapses and isn't breathing normally, call 9-1-1 and push hard and fast in the centre of the chest. Here's how Hands-Only CPR works.

• Cholesterol, Explained

  the good, the bad and what to do

  Heart health · animated video, 4:31

  What cholesterol does, how too much LDL builds plaque in your arteries, why a blood test is the only way to know, and what lowers it.

• Blood Pressure, Explained

  what the numbers mean

  Heart health · animated video, 4:48

  What the two blood pressure numbers mean, what counts as high, why it's called the silent killer, and how to measure and lower yours.

• Type 2 Diabetes, Explained

  and how to lower your risk

  Prevention · animated video, 4:39

  How insulin moves sugar into your cells, what goes wrong in type 2 diabetes, how to get tested, and the proven steps that lower your risk.

• Sepsis

  when an infection turns dangerous

  Emergencies · animated video, 4:40

  Sepsis is the body's extreme response to an infection, and it can harm its own organs. Learn how it happens, the warning signs, and when to get help fast.

• How Your Lungs Work

  every breath, step by step

  How the body works · animated video, 4:55

  Follow one breath from your nose to the tiny air sacs where oxygen enters your blood, and learn simple ways to protect your lungs.

• How Your Heart Works

  a pump, four rooms and a spark

  How the body works · animated video, 4:57

  A tour of your heart: four chambers, two pumps, one-way valves that make the lub-dub, and the electrical spark behind every beat.

• How Vaccines Work

  training your immune system

  Prevention · animated video, 4:22

  How your immune system learns and remembers germs, and how a vaccine teaches that lesson safely, before the real germ arrives.

• How a Heart Attack Happens

  and what you can do to prevent one

  Heart health · animated video, 4:29

  How plaque builds up in the heart's arteries, why a crack in it can suddenly block blood flow, the warning signs to act on, and the everyday changes that prevent most heart attacks.

General information, not medical advice.