The heart is the main human organ. It is this pump that pumps blood into the vessels. As long as the heart beats, a person lives. But if he stops doing his important work, life will stop too.
Pump principle
Modern research has shown that each of the striated muscle fibers is a kind of “peripheral heart”. And their contractions stimulate the movement of blood. It is for this reason that physical activity makes the work of the heart much easier, but because of physical inactivity, it should, on the contrary, work in an enhanced mode. By the way, this is one of the most common factors in violation of its main functions. As you know, blood enters the capillaries (where the pressure is very low) from the aorta (there, on the contrary, it is high). How do you keep balance? The heart is a whole system, and one can say that it is perfect. Everything is thought out by nature, and this very balance is maintained due to the fact that the blood, entering the capillaries from the aorta, passes through the vessels, and the pressure in them just decreases. Then it enters the venules, and through them already into the veins.
Cardiac cycle
The heart is an organ that does a great job. It is a combination of various biochemical, mechanical and even electrical processes. All this happens during just one cycle of relaxation and contraction, and in fact there are countless number of them per day. Scientists have calculated that in 24 hours the human heart rests for 16 hours and contracts for 8 hours. Another interesting statistic should be noted. Few people know that with age, the number of contractions that are carried out by the heart decreases. That is, the frequency decreases. The heart of a person over the age of 60 beats 80 times per minute. But 125 beats / min is an indicator of a one-year-old child. Over a lifetime, our main motor shrinks by about 3,100,000,000 - just think how big a figure that is! And finally, another amazing fact. The heart is an organ through which about 250 million liters of blood passes during our entire life! It does a really great job. So you need to monitor your he alth, and even more so - your heart, regularly supplying it with vitamins and nutrients.
Cardiac nervous system
The human body is one continuous nerve. And in their hearts there are an infinite number of them. Despite the fact that innervation comes to this organ from the sympathetic trunk, as well as from the vagus nerve, all this has only a regulatory effect. Excitation occurs in the direction from top to bottom from the node located in the interatrial septum. Then thisthe signal is transmitted to the so-called atrioventricular node (it is the border of the ventricles and atria). And the final “point” is the ventricles. The signal spreads throughout his musculature.
What does a heart look like?
A real heart, the photo of which has nothing to do with the image that appears in the mind of every person when it is mentioned, looks like a cone-shaped organ with adjoining arteries and venous trunks. If explained in words, then it resembles a slightly flattened egg with a slightly pointed edge and a system of large vessels on top. If we talk about shapes and sizes, then it should be noted that they differ for each person. It depends on body type, sex, age and he alth. The heart is located almost in the middle of the chest, but closer to the left side. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the human body: in some it is more pronounced, in others - not so much. There are also cases of pathology when the heart is on the right side. However, this is a mirror arrangement of organs, and people with such features are quite rare.
Organ structure
So, what is a heart, clearly, and how it looks - too. But this is not all the information that you should know about this body. One must also be aware of what it consists of. So, the heart is a hollow organ, but it has as many as four cavities that perform pumping functions. Two atria and two ventricles are the mainits components. The second of these are the most massive. Heartbeats are created precisely by their muscle mass, and to be more precise, with the help of the left ventricle. By the way, they are connected to the atria by special holes equipped with valves. What is the role of the second component? The atria are distinguished by a less developed muscular wall, but they also contract. For example, venous blood enters the right, and arterial blood enters the left. If you understand the question of what the heart is, then only one thing can be said with certainty: all the vessels, veins, arteries and valves are connected to each other, and together they form a unique organ thanks to which a person can exist.
Heart disease
Unfortunately, the heart is not a perpetual motion machine. This body continuously works from the moment a person is born and until his last breath on Earth. Earlier it was said how much work he performs. Some people do not attach importance to this and overload their hearts. Others completely forget about its existence and stop monitoring their he alth. Not surprisingly, heart disease is considered the most common today. They affect a huge number of people. And moreover, the symptoms are the most harmless, at first glance, signs. Sweating, for example. Or edema. If a person suffers from heart failure, then fluid is retained in the body. Because of this, swelling occurs. A sharp increase in weight or, conversely, its decrease may also indicateheart problems. Shortness of breath is another symptom. Of course, it is also observed in lung diseases (COPD or asthma), however, heart failure is also characterized by it. Chest pain spreading to the abdomen, neck, jaw, arms or other parts of the body is also a cause for concern. You should not be afraid to go to the doctor. Jokes are bad with the heart, therefore it is extremely undesirable to delay diagnosis and treatment. Otherwise it may be too late later.
