The heart is the center of the circulatory system. It unceasingly beats twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year throughout ones life without a rest.
In order to have the body functioning properly, the organs and tissues must be supplied with oxygen. This is carried by the blood, but the true motor behind its delivery is the heart. Blood cells begin their life in the bone marrow after which they enter the circulatory system. The red blood cells are pumped through the veins to the vena cava, the main vein into the heart. From there, the blood enters the right artium of the heart, passes through the right ventricle and is sent to the lungs. In the lungs, the red blood cells pick up oxygen which attaches to a protein in the cell called hemoglobin. Once these cells have gotten oxygen, they turn red. After their journey to the lungs, they return to the heart via the pulmonary vein. This vein is the only one in the body to carry oxygenated blood. Once back in the heart, the blood moves from the left atrium into the left ventricle where it is then sent out through the aorta which branches off into increasingly smaller vessels: the arteries, arterioles, and the capillaries. The capillaries are so small that the oxygen molecules can pass through to the tissues of the body. Once the red blood cells have given up their oxygen, they return to the heart through the veins to begin the process again.
When the heart stops working for even a moment, severe damage to the brain and organs can result. Consequently, many cast a careful eye toward their heart health to prevent cardiac arrest when the heart stops beating. A heart attack occurs when the a portion of the heart muscle dies from a lack of blood flow to it. Attending to ones diet and exercise can help to strengthen the heart and prevent heart disease. Anyone with concern about their heart should discuss the matter with a physician.
