20 amazing curiosities of the human heart (that you did not know)

The heart is considered one of the strongest organs and muscles in our body and has the important function of making reach the blood to all parts of the body, necessary for these to continue functioning and for this reason it never stops beat.

There are different questions that we can ask ourselves about this vital organ, such as: how many beats are produced per minute, what is its size, to which parts of the body the blood reaches, how large is the circulatory system, what shape is the heart and where is it located, how many deaths from heart disease occur in a year, can heart cancer occur or how many liters of blood are produce per day. In this article we solve all the questions raised before and some more that we have thought curious and that may be of interest to you.

• We recommend you read: "The 17 Parts of the Heart (and Their Functions)"

Curious facts about our heart

The heart is an important organ of our body that is responsible for getting the blood to the different parts of the body with the nutrients and oxygen necessary for its proper functioning.

. Given its vital importance, it never stops working and it does so by maintaining a certain rhythm that It can increase or decrease according to the characteristics of the subject, such as age, sex or the practice of sport.

The need for a well-functioning heart is reinforced by the high percentage of deaths that occur produced by cardiovascular diseases, a failure in this system can lead to very serious consequences. serious. Here we mention twenty curious facts about the heart that will surely surprise you.

1. human heart size

Normally, each person's heart is about the same size as their clenched fist. It is estimated that these measurements on average are 12.50 cm long, 8.75 cm wide and 7.50 cm deep. This size can vary according to different variables of individuals, for example in athletes, who exercise regularly, hypertrophy, a larger heart, has been observed.

2. Beats per minute

The human heart is considered to beat between 60 to 100 times per minute at rest and on average in one day it is estimated that it can be around 115,000 beats. There are subjects who fall outside this range, such as the aforementioned athletes, who show a slower heart rate, bradycardia. We will therefore see that the larger the heart, the slower it will beat. In case of obtaining scores above or below this range, it is better to consult a doctor.

3. The strongest muscle in our body

Although other alternatives have been considered, the heart is one of the strongest muscles, especially if we consider its continuous work, it never stops beating and its ability to get blood to all the organs of our body.

4. The heart can beat outside the body

This event seems impossible but the heart can beat for a period that can go from seconds to hours outside the body depending on the conditions, since he himself is the one who generates his own electrical impulses. Of course, if we want to keep it for longer, we will need to provide it with nutrients and oxygen.

5. Children's hearts beat faster than adults'.

If we consider the proposition of the body of an adult compared to that of a child, it is logical to deduce that the size of a child's heart It will be lower than that of an adult person, therefore requiring that their heart rate be higher, obtaining an average of more than 100 beats per minute.

6. The heart pumps 5 liters of blood per minute.

Keeping in mind that the heart beats between 60 and 100 times per minute, the blood pumped in this period is approximately 5 liters. If we increase the period of time we obtain that in 1 day it pumps about 7,200 liters and in 1 year about 2,628,000, which to give you an idea are approximately the liters needed to fill an Olympic pool.

7. The length of our circulatory system reaches to go around the Earth twice

Our circulatory system is made up of arteries, which transport blood to the different organs; veins, which carry blood to the heart and capillaries. If we place this system in a straight line, it would reach a length close to 80,000 kilometers, a length with which you could go around the world twice around the equator.

8. The heart is located in the center of the chest

Even if we have always heard that the heart is on the left side, it really is located in the center of the thorax, in the center of the chest, but it is true that it normally shows an inclination to the left.

9. Heart cancer is extremely rare.

We know that cancer consists of an uncontrolled proliferation, division, of cells that give rise to a malignant tumor. It has been proven that heart cells no longer divide after birth, a fact that means that a mutation cannot alter this proliferation, giving rise to cancer.

Tumors can appear in the heart although these are not usually malignant, if so, the type of cancer that usually begins in the heart is called a sarcoma, which is characterized by originating in the soft tissues of the Body.

10. Cardiovascular diseases are the ones that generate more deaths each year

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death worldwide, surpassing any other pathology. Being the number of deaths from cardiovascular complications greater than 17 and a half million assuming 31% of all deaths in one year.

11. heart can be broken

We are used to hearing that someone's heart has been broken because they have been hurt emotionally, as it turns out that this fact is possible. There is a syndrome called broken heart that appears caused by a great emotional or physical impact that causes symptoms and sensations similar to a heart attack and can even sometimes lead to the death.

12. The heart sends blood to all parts of the body except the corneas.

The heart has the function of getting blood to the different parts of the body, except the cornea, which is the transparent front part of the eye, this is because the cornea has no blood vessels and the way to obtain the necessary nutrients and oxygen is through the liquids that cover it, the tear film and the aqueous humor. Being also the only fabric that obtains direct oxygen from the outside.

13. The heart is shaped like a cone

Contrary to how we usually represent the heart, in reality it has the shape of a cone with the tip tilted to the left so it tends to be considered to be on the left side and we hear the beat better in this side.

14. The kidneys are the part of the body that receives the most blood.

The kidneys are the part of the body that receives the most blood. assuming 22% of the blood issued to the various bodies.

15. Women's hearts beat faster

As we mentioned before in the case of children, who have a smaller heart, they need it to beat faster so that the blood reaches everywhere. Thus, in the case of women, a similar thing usually happens, since normally their heart is smaller than that of men, thus increasing the beats per minute by about 10 times.

16. Heartbeats can be synchronized

This surprising fact is given by the synchronization of breathing, that is, it has been observed that if the breathing rhythm is synchronized, the speed of the heartbeat is also synchronized as a consequence. This synchronization capacity was observed in choir songs that, if they breathed following the same rhythm, also showed the same heart rate.

17. Laughing is good for the heart

We know that laughing is a good action in general and specifically it has been observed that it is also good for the heart, since it increases the secretion of endorphins, which is a type of hormone that helps vasodilation, an increase in blood vessels, thus benefiting the circulation of the blood.

18. Most heart attacks happen on Monday

If we look at the records of heart attacks produced in a year, we see that most of them happen on Monday, it is not known why this event occurs but it is a curious fact.

19. The first case of heart disease dates back 3,500 years

The first record of heart disease dates back 3,500 years and was observed in an Egyptian mummy.

20. The human heart weighs between 200 and 350 grams

In the same way that it happens with the size, the weight also varies according to the sex, in this way the women tend to present a heart of lower weight, between 200 and 300 grams, on the other hand that of men can reach between 250 and 350 grams. The percentage of body weight that corresponds to the heart is between 0.40 and 0.45%.