The heart is a fascinating part of your body. Getting to work before any other organ, it goes on working tirelessly until your last breath. So naturally, many questions arise about it. In this series we answer the most frequently asked ones.
1. I know the heart pumps blood, but why does blood need to be pumped in the first place?
Blood needs to be pumped to supply oxygen and nutrients to cells everywhere in the body, and remove waste and send metabolised carbon dioxide to the lungs for expulsion. In other words, think of the circulatory system as both the food delivery and garbage collection service. The blood is the conveyor that brings the food and takes away the garbage, and the heart is the motor that continuously runs the conveyor.
2. Can you explain the circulatory system in three simple sentences?
Certainly! Here you go:
- The air you inhale is used by the lungs to oxygenate blood, which is pumped by the heart to the rest of the body.
- At the same time, deoxygenated blood is pumped by the heart from the rest of the body into the lungs to filter out the carbon dioxide, which you exhale.
- The cycle repeats constantly.
3. Is the heart really on the left side?
Although the heart is largely at the centre of the chest, since its largest part is usually slightly offset to the left of the chest (although occasionally it may be offset to the right as well), and is felt to be on the left because the left heart is stronger and larger, since it pumps to all body parts, it is often represented as being on the left side.
4. How does the heart keep ticking?
The heart pumps blood due to an electrical signal generated at the sinoatrial node, causing the heart muscles to contract and expand alternately.
