How Does A Heart Work ?

The heart is the hardest working organ in the body. It can never rest or stop working, as it will result in death. The heart in reality is a muscle and it is responsible for pumping blood to each and every part of the body. Before you understand how does a heart work, it is important to understand the structure of the heart.

The heart has three protective layers. The outermost layer is the protective layer and it filled with a fluid. This layer is called pericardium. The middle layer is called myocardium; while the inner layer lining the heart is called endocardium. The heart is made up of 4 chambers, namely the right atrium, left atrium, right ventricle and left ventricle. The former two are upper chambers, while the latter two are lower chambers. Together they work in pumping oxygenated blood, which comes to the heart from the lungs, to all the rest of the body. The deoxygenated blood from the body is sent to the heart from where it is dispatched to the lungs to be reoxygenated.

To ensure that the blood does flow backwards into the different chambers or get mixed with blood from other chambers, each chamber is equipped with its own valve. The right atrium has the tricuspid valve, the left mitral valve, the right ventricle has the pulmonary valve, and the left has the aortic valve.

The heart pumps blood through the process of contraction and relaxation. The contraction occurs in 2 stages and is referred to as systole. This allows the blood to leave the heart. In the first contraction, the atria contract simultaneously facilitating the flow of blood into the ventricles. Each atrium pushes the blood into the corresponding ventricle. In the second contraction, the ventricles push the blood either into the aorta so that it can be transported to the rest of the body or the lungs to get reoxygenated.

Once the systole finishes, the heart relaxes and this is referred to as diastole. In this stage, the blood enters the heart and the same procedure occurs all over again.

However, each side of the heart has a different function to perform. The upper right atrium is responsible for getting deoxygenated blood from the rest of the body. This blood is then pushed into the lower right ventricle from where it is sent to the lungs via the pulmonary artery. The upper left atrium is responsible for getting oxygen-rich blood from the lungs. This blood is pushed into the lower left ventricle, which then releases it into the aorta so that the different cells in the body get oxygen and all other nutrients through the blood.

The heart is an extremely efficient organ and the pumping action takes a fraction of second to complete. And, by continuously pumping blood in and out of the heart, the body is able to sustain itself. This pumping action of the heart never ceases and goes on till the person dies. However, even the heart needs oxygen and other nutrients to be able to work properly. It gets this from the coronary arteries and their branches. If these arteries or their branches get blocked due to plaque formation or blood clot, the working of the heart is affected. The heart gets starved for oxygen and nutrients, resulting in a heart attack or other heart ailment.

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