July 99
Take These Facts to Heart |
| The
heart is an amazing pump that powers the body, carrying life-giving nutrients and oxygen
to all the cells. Take care of it! |
The heart is an amazing pump that powers the body,
carrying life-giving nutrients and oxygen to all the cells. Most of us take this organ for
granted, but consider these wondrous facts:
- The heart, which weighs 9 -11 ounces in an adult, consists chiefly of
muscle and can perform enough work in one hour to lift 3,000 pounds, roughly the weight of
a small car, about one foot off the ground.
- Every minute, the heart pumps our entire supply of blood -- about
five quarts -- through the body.
- In one day, the heart pumps nearly 2,000 gallons of blood. In a
70-year lifetime, it pumps about 51 million gallons.
- In the average lifetime, the heart beats 2.5 billion times.
- The human heart is fully developed about eight weeks after
conception, when the embryo is only about one inch long. The heart actually begins to beat
even earlier: about four weeks after conception.
- In ancient times, the heart was given special importance. The Chinese
considered that happiness originated in the heart, and the Egyptians considered the heart
to be the source of intelligence and emotion.
- The Ancient Greek physician Galen discovered in 100 A.D. that the
heart set the body's blood in motion.
- Diseases of the heart and blood vessels are now the leading cause of
death in the United States. More than twice as many people die from these diseases as from
all forms of cancer, and more than half these deaths are by heart attacks.
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The Health Alliance is an international leader in the diagnosis and
treatment of heart ailments. Our heart health physicians, nurses and other caregivers are
experts in everything from how the heart works to how it gets sick.
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Contact Us:
Health Alliance
1-513-585-CARE
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