Body Basics: The Heart
Discover how your amazing heart works to pump blood throughout your body, keeping you alive and healthy every single day
🎬Interactive Heart Slideshow
The Amazing Heart
Welcome to the heart slideshow! Click through to learn about this incredible organ that works tirelessly to keep you alive.
Click through the slideshow above to learn about the heart, or scroll down for detailed information
❤️What is the Heart?
The heart is an amazing muscle about the size of your fist that works as your body's pump. It beats about 100,000 times every day, pumping approximately 2,000 gallons of blood through your body!
Located in the center of your chest, slightly to the left, the heart's main job is to pump blood throughout your body. This blood carries oxygen and nutrients that every cell in your body needs to survive and function properly.
💡Amazing Heart Facts
- •Your heart beats about 100,000 times every single day
- •It pumps about 2,000 gallons (7,500 liters) of blood daily
- •The heart starts beating before you're even born
- •It never takes a break - it works 24/7 for your entire life
- •Blood takes about 60 seconds to travel through your entire body
🫀Parts of the Heart
The heart has four chambers (rooms) and several major blood vessels that work together like a perfectly coordinated team:
🏠The Four Chambers
1. Right Atrium
The upper right chamber. Receives oxygen-poor blood returning from the body and sends it to the right ventricle.
2. Right Ventricle
The lower right chamber. Pumps oxygen-poor blood to the lungs through the pulmonary artery so it can pick up oxygen.
3. Left Atrium
The upper left chamber. Receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and sends it to the left ventricle.
4. Left Ventricle
The lower left chamber. The strongest part of the heart that pumps oxygen-rich blood to the entire body through the aorta.
🩸Major Blood Vessels
Aorta
The largest artery in your body. Carries oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle to all parts of your body.
Pulmonary Artery
Carries oxygen-poor blood from the right ventricle to the lungs where it picks up oxygen and releases carbon dioxide.
Pulmonary Veins
Bring oxygen-rich blood back from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart.
Vena Cava
Two large veins (superior and inferior) that bring oxygen-poor blood from the body back to the right atrium.
🎯Remember This:
Atriums are the upper chambers that receive blood. Ventricles are the lower chambers that pump blood out. The left side handles oxygen-rich blood for the body, while the right side handles oxygen-poor blood going to the lungs.
🔄How Blood Flows Through the Heart
The heart works in a continuous cycle, pumping blood through your body in a specific pattern. Let's follow the journey of blood through your heart:
Blood Enters the Right Atrium
Oxygen-poor blood (shown in blue on medical diagrams) returns from your body through two large veins called the superior and inferior vena cava. This blood has delivered oxygen to your body's cells and picked up carbon dioxide waste.
To the Right Ventricle
The right atrium contracts (squeezes) and pushes blood through a valve called the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle. Valves are like one-way doors that make sure blood flows in the right direction.
Off to the Lungs!
The right ventricle contracts and pumps blood through the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary artery. This artery carries the blood to your lungs where an amazing exchange happens: the blood releases carbon dioxide (which you breathe out) and picks up fresh oxygen (from the air you breathe in).
Back to the Heart - Left Atrium
Now oxygen-rich blood (shown in red on medical diagrams) returns from the lungs through four pulmonary veins to the left atrium. This blood is now ready to deliver oxygen to every cell in your body!
Into the Left Ventricle
The left atrium contracts and pushes blood through the mitral valve (also called the bicuspid valve) into the left ventricle. The left ventricle has the thickest, strongest walls because it needs to pump blood to your entire body!
Out to the Body!
The left ventricle contracts powerfully and pumps oxygen-rich blood through the aortic valve into the aorta - the body's largest artery. From the aorta, blood branches off into smaller and smaller arteries, eventually reaching every single cell in your body from your head to your toes!
📝Quick Summary: The Heart's Path
Follow the flow:
💓Understanding Your Heartbeat
When you feel your heartbeat or pulse, you're feeling your heart muscle contract and relax in a rhythmic pattern. Each heartbeat has two main phases:
📥Diastole (Relaxation)
During diastole, your heart muscle relaxes. The chambers fill with blood as they prepare for the next contraction. This is the resting phase.
📤Systole (Contraction)
During systole, your heart muscle contracts (squeezes). The ventricles push blood out to your lungs and body. This is the pumping phase.
🩺What Makes the "Lub-Dub" Sound?
The "lub-dub" sound you hear through a stethoscope is actually the sound of your heart valves closing:
- •"Lub" - The tricuspid and mitral valves close when the ventricles start to contract
- •"Dub" - The pulmonary and aortic valves close when the ventricles finish contracting
⏱️Heart Rate: How Fast Should Your Heart Beat?
Your heart rate is how many times your heart beats per minute. It changes depending on what you're doing and how old you are.
👶Newborns (0-3 months)
100-150 bpm
Beats per minute at rest
🧒Children (3-12 years)
70-120 bpm
Beats per minute at rest
👦Teens & Adults
60-100 bpm
Beats per minute at rest
🏃Your Heart Rate Changes!
Slower When:
- • You're resting or sleeping
- • You're calm and relaxed
- • You're very fit (athlete's hearts are more efficient)
Faster When:
- • You're exercising or playing
- • You're excited, scared, or nervous
- • You're sick with a fever
- • It's very hot outside
👋How to Check Your Pulse
You can feel your pulse (heartbeat) in several places:
- 1.Wrist (Radial Pulse): Place two fingers on the inside of your wrist below your thumb
- 2.Neck (Carotid Pulse): Place two fingers gently on the side of your neck
- 3.Chest: Place your hand over your heart on the left side of your chest
Count the beats for 15 seconds, then multiply by 4 to get your beats per minute!
💚Keeping Your Heart Healthy
Your heart works hard for you every single day! Here are ways to keep it strong and healthy:
🏃♂️Stay Active
- ✓Get at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily
- ✓Play sports, dance, bike, swim, or run
- ✓Exercise makes your heart stronger!
🥗Eat Healthy Foods
- ✓Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
- ✓Choose whole grains over processed foods
- ✓Limit sugary drinks and salty snacks
😴Get Enough Sleep
- ✓Children need 9-12 hours of sleep per night
- ✓Teens need 8-10 hours of sleep
- ✓Sleep helps your heart rest and recover
😊Manage Stress
- ✓Take deep breaths when feeling stressed
- ✓Talk to parents or friends about your feelings
- ✓Do activities you enjoy and have fun!
💧Stay Hydrated
- ✓Drink plenty of water throughout the day
- ✓Water helps your heart pump blood more easily
- ✓Especially important when exercising!
🚭Avoid Harmful Habits
- ✓Never smoke or use tobacco products
- ✓Avoid secondhand smoke
- ✓These can seriously damage your heart
💡Remember:
Building healthy habits now will help keep your heart strong for your entire life! Small changes can make a big difference in your heart health.
🎮Fun Heart Activities to Try
🏃Exercise Experiment
Check your resting heart rate, then do jumping jacks for 1 minute. Check your heart rate again. How much did it increase? Wait until it returns to normal - how long did that take?
👂Listen to Your Heart
Make a simple stethoscope using a paper towel tube or toilet paper roll. Place one end on someone's chest and your ear on the other end. Can you hear the "lub-dub"?
✊Fist Pump Activity
Make a fist and squeeze/release 70 times per minute (use a timer). This simulates what your heart does! Keep going for 5 minutes. Tired? Your heart does this 100,000 times a day!
🎨Draw Your Heart
Draw a diagram of the heart with all four chambers, label them, and use arrows to show how blood flows through. Use blue for oxygen-poor blood and red for oxygen-rich blood!
Related Topics
⚠️Educational Information
This information is for educational purposes only and is designed to help children and parents understand how the heart works.
If you have concerns about your child's heart health, heart rate, or notice any unusual symptoms (chest pain, extreme fatigue, dizziness, fainting), please consult your child's pediatrician or a qualified healthcare provider immediately.
Always seek professional medical advice for any health-related questions or concerns.