All About Heart

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All About the Heart

Your heart is a muscle. It is slightly larger than your fist and weighs less than a pound. It is located
to the left of the middle of your chest. Your heart pumps blood to the lungs and to all parts of your
body. The blood provides your body with oxygen and nutrients. It also carries away waste.

Structures of the heart


Layers
Your heart muscle has three layers:
• Myocardium: This thickest layer is
also the middle layer
• Pericardium: This outside layer
surrounds the myocardium
• Endocardium: This thin layer lines
the inside of the myocardium

Endocardium
Myocardium
Pericardium

Chambers
The normal heart has four chambers.
A wall divides the heart into a right side
and a left side. Each side of the heart is
divided into two chambers.
The upper chamber is called the
atrium and the lower chamber is called
the ventricle. These chambers are .
separated by valves that open and
close.
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Valves
The valves allow blood to flow only in one
direction. Valves direct the flow of blood
through the heart, to the lungs and to the
rest of the body. There are four valves:
• Tricuspid: Located between the right
atrium and ventricle
• Pulmonic: Located between the right
ventricle and lungs
• Mitral: Located between the left atrium and ventricle
• Aortic: Located between the left ventricle and the rest of the body

Blood vessels
Blood vessels carry blood to and away from the heart. Vessels that carry blood from the heart to
the body are called arteries. Vessels that carry blood from the body back to the heart are called
veins.

Blood flow through the heart


Your heart acts as a double pump:
• The right side pumps
blood to your lungs,
where the blood picks
up oxygen and then
returns it to the left
side of the heart.
• The left ventricle then
pumps blood out to
your body through the
large artery, called the
aorta.
• Oxygen is removed
from your blood by
the cells, so it can be
used by your body.
• The blood then
returns to the right
side of the heart
through your veins.
The right side of the heart once again pumps your blood to the lungs where oxygen is picked
up.
• This process occurs with each heartbeat.
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Each heartbeat has two phases:


• The resting phase is called diastole. During diastole, blood from the atria fills the ventricles.
• Then the ventricles pump blood to your body or lungs. This pumping phase is called systole.
Systole and diastole are shown in your blood pressure numbers. Systole is the top number and
diastole, the bottom, as in 120/80.
The work of the heart changes with your body’s needs. For example, when you exercise, your
body needs more blood and oxygen. Your heart pumps harder and faster to deliver more blood to
the body. When you sleep, less blood and oxygen is needed and your heart slows down.

The heart’s conduction system


Your heart has a normal conduction or electrical system that stimulates the heart muscle to beat.
Electrical impulses travel in a normal fashion from the upper chambers to the lower chambers
over this conduction system. This diagram shows how the impulse travels over the conduction
system.
1. Normal heartbeats
begin at the SA node
that acts as the heart’s SA Node
“pacemaker.” The SA Left Bundle of
node is also called the Right
Atrium HIS
sinus node. Atrium

2. The electrical impulse


spreads across the right Left Bundle
Left Branch
and left atria. AV Node Ventricle
Right
3. The impulse travels Ventricle
through the AV node to
the Bundle of HIS.
Right Bundle
4. The Bundle of HIS Branch
divides into a left and a
right bundle branch. The
impulse spreads through Purkinje
Fibers
these bundle branches
into the Purkinje (pŭr-
kin’jē) fibers in the
ventricles.
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Blood supply of the heart


(coronary arteries)
The heart muscle itself must receive a
constant supply of oxygen. Oxygen is
carried in the blood through the coronary
arteries. Two main coronary arteries, a
right and a left, supply the heart muscle
with blood. These arteries are located on
the surface of the heart. They divide into
many smaller branches that go into the
heart muscle. All parts of the heart muscle
are supplied with oxygen-rich blood
through these small arteries.

Here is how these arteries wrap around from the front to the back of the heart:
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In summary
• Your heart pumps blood and oxygen to all parts of your body. With exercise and activity, your
body and heart need more blood and oxygen.
• Your heart has valves that direct the flow of blood through the heart, to the lungs, and the rest
of your body.
• Your heart has a normal conduction or electrical system that stimulates the heart muscle to
beat.
• Your heart muscle itself must receive a constant supply of oxygen.

Talk to your doctor or health care team if you have any questions about your care.
For more health information, contact the Library for Health Information at 614-293-3707 or
e-mail health-info@osu.edu.
© 2006 - September 7, 2017, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

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