Every thing about Human Heart
Heart
The tiny cone shaped muscular organ of the human body is one of the marvels of nature. By carrying out the basic function of supplying blood throughout the body parts, the human heart acts like a pumping machine! Let us know more about human heart facts.
Human Heart Location
Generally, when we're asked to place our hands on the heart, we place it on the left side of the chest. However, the fact is that the human heart is located in the center of chest. The heart lies slightly to the left relative to the center of thorax. Thorax is the region between the head and the abdomen. To understand it simply, the human heart lies behind and slightly left to the breastbone.
Human Heart Anatomy
The cardiovascular system comprises of the human heart, arteries and veins. With the help of arteries and veins, the heart pumps blood to various organs. The heart is divided into four chambers, the right atrium, left atrium, right ventricle and left ventricle.
The right atrium receives blood from the veins and it pumps to the right ventricle. After this step, blood from right atrium is transferred to the right ventricle which pumps the blood into the lungs. As the blood reaches the lungs, it absorbs oxygen and this oxygenated blood enters the left atrium. From the left atrium, the blood is transferred to the left ventricle. The left ventricle is hailed to be the strongest chamber and it's responsible for pumping blood to various parts of the body. The heart is surrounded and protected by a sac like structure called as pericardium. While coronary arteries provide blood to the heart, there are various nerves that determine the contractions and expansion of heart muscles.
For detailed information on human heart anatomy, read more on anatomy of the human heart and how does the heart pump blood.
Human Heart Rate
What does heart rate mean? In medical terms, the number of times heart beats per minute is known as the human heart rate. Each time the heart beats, the blood is pumped into the arteries and while the blood flows through the arteries, there is slight bulging of the arteries. The brief bulging of the arteries is known as pulse. By counting the number of pulses in an artery in an interval of 30 seconds, the human heart rate can be measured.
For feeling the pulse of a person, you have to place the first two fingers on one hand on the palm side of the person's wrist, toward the thumb side. You may be required to press firmly to feel the pulse of the blood. We measure the heartbeat rate by counting the number of pulses in an interval of 30 seconds and then multiplying the number by 2. The healthy heart rate for kids is generally between 90 to 120 per minute while for adults it is 72 heart beats per minute. Read more on how to determine target heart rate.
Human Heart Weight
The human heart consists of less than 0.5% of the total body weight of the person. On an average, the human heart weighs near about 300 grams (in males) and 227 grams (in females)!
Some More Interesting Human Heart Facts
When it comes to efficiency and performance, the human heart is smarter and efficient than any other machine. Some facts about human heart are as follows:
- An adult heart has the size of two clenched fists while the size of a child's heart equals the size of a child's clenched fist.
- During the entire lifetime, i.e. when the average human lifespan (about 70 years) is considered, the heart beats around 2.5 billion times.
- Everyday the human heart pumps around 2000 gallons of blood.
- In one day, the blood travels a total distance of 19000 km!
- The human heart circulatory system (veins, arteries and capillaries combined) are so long that they can go around the globe twice!
- Raymond de Vieussens, a French anatomy professor described the heart's structure in 1706.
- The first heart transplant operation was performed by Sir Christian Bernard in South Africa in the year 1967.
- The sound of pulse that is Lub-dub, Lub-dub, Lub-dub is actually the closing and opening of heart valves!
- Blood capillaries are so small in size that the thickness of 10 capillaries equals to that of one human hair!
You may read more on:
- Heart Health
- Cardiovascular System Facts
- A Labeled Diagram of the Human Heart
Lastly, one of the astonishing human heart facts is that by following a natural lifestyle and including physical exercises in our daily regime we can keep its efficiency at its peak! So if you are into unhealthy habits than quitting them would be the safest path to maintain the quality of your physical health!
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