What Is the Heart?
Your heart is a muscular organ that acts like a pump
to send blood throughout your body all the time.
Your heart is at the center of
your circulatory system, which delivers blood to all areas of your body. An
electrical system regulates the heart and uses electrical signals to contract
the hearts walls. When the walls contract, blood is pumped into your
circulatory system.
Your circulatory system is made up of a network of blood
vessels, such as arteries, veins, and capillaries. The vessels in this network
carry blood to and from all areas of your body. A system of inlet and outlet
valves in your hearts chambers works to ensure that blood flows in the
right direction.
Your heart is vital to your health and nearly
everything that goes on in your body. Without the hearts pumping action,
blood cant circulate within your body.
Your blood carries the oxygen and
nutrients that your organs need to function normally. Blood also carries carbon
dioxide, a waste product, to your lungs to be passed out of your body and into
the air. A healthy heart supplies the areas of your body with the right amount
of blood at the right rate needed to function normally. If disease or injury
weakens your heart, your bodys organs wont receive enough blood to
function normally.
January 2007 |