How your Heart Works

Your hearts job is to pump blood around the body which delivers oxygen and energy to your cells and to also help to recycle blood that contains carbon dioxide and other toxins. You could think of it like a big water treatment plant. Fresh, clean blood pumps out to where it is needed, while the waste blood is directed back to be treated and re-energised. The heart consists of four chambers where blood enters and leaves the heart. Fresh, oxygenated blood leaves the heart from the left side at great pressure via arteries. The blood that has delivered its oxygen returns more slowly to the right side of the heart via veins. It is then directed to the lungs where it picks up more oxygen before being sent back to the heart ready to be pumped out again by the arteries. It is a simple but very effective system.

Copyright 2012 Think Red for Strong Hearts All right reserved.

The Structure of the Human Heart

The heart is made up of three layers: 1. Pericardium - thin outer protective layer 2. Myocardium - specialised cells making up the thick muscular wall 3. Endocardium - inner lining of the heart Inside the heart there are four chambers two on the left side and two on the right; The two small upper chambers are called the atria The two larger lower chambers are called the ventricles The left and right sides of the heart are divided by a muscular wall called the septum There are four valves in your heart. They act like gates that open and close, making sure that your blood travels in one direction through your heart a bit like a one-way traffic system. They are called the tricuspid valve and the pulmonary valve on the right side of the heart, and the mitral valve and the aortic valve on the left. Like every other organ, the heart needs a continuous supply of fresh blood. This blood supply comes from the coronary arteries which branch off from the main artery (the aorta) as it leaves the left ventricle. The coronary arteries spread across the outside of the myocardium, supplying it with blood.

Copyright 2012 Think Red for Strong Hearts All right reserved.

Arteries, Veins and Valves

Veins
Veins carry de-oxygenated blood back to the heart. Veins are smaller and closer to the surface of the skin. Blood travels more slowly through veins.

Arteries
Arteries send oxygen rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Arteries are wider and further below the skin. Bloods pumps very quickly through arteries.

Valves
Valves are very important to heart function. They act like traffic controllers to ensure that the blood flows in the correct direction. Heart valve defects can sometimes occur but can usually be corrected by surgery. In the heart, there are four valves, one for each chamber. They are called the Mitral valve, Tricuspid valve, Pulmonary valve and the Aortic valve.

Copyright 2012 Think Red for Strong Hearts All right reserved.

How Hard Your Heart Works

Your heart is the hardest working muscle in your body and it never stops to rest. Every day the heart beats around 100, 000 times When the body is at rest, each beat pumps around 60 80mls of blood It takes just one minute to pump all of the blood (5 litres) through the body In one day, the heart circulates 23,000 litres of blood through the body An Olympic athletes heart can pump 4 times more blood per minute when active

Copyright 2012 Think Red for Strong Hearts All right reserved.