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    24 Fun Facts About The Heart

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    Aljean Bachinicha
    Fun facts

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    24 Fun Facts About The Heart

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    Aljean Bachinicha
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    Fun facts

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    24 Fun Facts About the Heart

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    33 views1 page

    24 Fun Facts About The Heart

    Uploaded by

    Aljean Bachinicha
    Fun facts

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
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    Fun Facts About the Heart


    You Didn’t Know
    By Diana Wells — Updated on July 6, 2017

    How the heart works


    The heart is part of your body’s circulatory system.
    It’s made up of the atria, ventricles, valves, and
    various arteries and veins. The main function of
    your heart is to keep blood that’s full of oxygen
    circulating throughout your body. Because your
    heart is crucial to your survival, it’s important to
    keep it healthy with a well-balanced diet and
    exercise, and avoid things that can damage it, like
    smoking.

    While you’re probably familiar with a few heart-


    healthy tips, there are some fun facts about the
    heart that you may not know.

    24 fun facts about the heart

    1. The average heart is the size of a fist in an


    adult.

    2. Your heart will beat about 115,000 times


    each day.

    3. Your heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of


    blood every day.

    4. An electrical system controls the rhythm of


    your heart. It’s called the cardiac conduction
    system.

    5. The heart can continue beating even when


    it’s disconnected from the body.

    6. The first open-heart surgery occurred in


    1893. It was performed by Daniel Hale
    Williams, who was one of the few black
    cardiologists in the United States at the time.

    7. The first implantable pacemaker was used in


    1958. Arne Larsson, who received the
    pacemaker, lived longer than the surgeon
    who implanted it. Larsson died at 86 of a
    disease that was unrelated to his heart.

    8. The youngest person to receive heart


    surgery was only a minute old. She had a
    heart defect that many babies don’t survive.
    Her surgery was successful, but she’ll
    eventually need a heart transplant.

    9. The earliest known case of heart disease


    was identified in the remains of a 3,500-
    year-old Egyptian mummy.

    10. The fairy fly, which is a kind of wasp, has the


    smallest heart of any living creature.

    11. The American pygmy shrew is the smallest


    mammal, but it has the fastest heartbeat at
    1,200 beats per minute.

    12. Whales have the largest heart of any


    mammal.

    13. The giraffe has a lopsided heart, with their


    left ventricle being thicker than the right.
    This is because the left side has to get blood
    up the giraffe’s long neck to reach their
    brain.

    14. Most heart attacks happen on a Monday & .

    15. Christmas day is the most common & day of


    the year for heart attacks to happen.

    16. The human heart weighs less than 1 pound.


    However, a man’s heart, on average, is 2
    ounces heavier than a woman’s heart.

    17. A woman’s heart beats slightly faster than a


    man’s heart.

    18. The beating sound of your heart is caused


    by the valves of the heart opening and
    closing.

    19. It’s possible to have a broken heart. It’s


    called broken heart syndrome and can have
    similar symptoms as a heart attack. The
    difference is that a heart attack is from heart
    disease and broken heart syndrome is
    caused by a rush of stress hormones from
    an emotional or physical stress event.

    20. Death from a broken heart, or broken heart


    syndrome, is possible but extremely rare.

    21. The iconic heart shape as a symbol of love is


    traditionally thought to come from the
    silphium plant, which was used as an ancient
    form of birth control.

    22. If you were to stretch out your blood vessel


    system, it would extend over 60,000 miles.

    23. Heart cells stop dividing, which means heart


    cancer is extremely rare.

    24. Laughing is good for your heart. It reduces


    stress and gives a boost to your immune
    system.
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    The takeaway
    Your heart affects every part of your body. That
    also means that diet, lifestyle, and your emotional
    well-being can affect your heart. Emotional and
    physical health are both important for maintaining
    a healthy heart.

    Read more: Healthy heart tips »


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    How we reviewed this article:


    SOURCES

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