Anatomy 101: The Heart

John Hersey

This fist-sized power station beats an average of 50 to 100 times per minute and, in that time span, pumps 5 or 6 quarts of oxygen-filled blood to the rest of the body. Electrical impulses trigger the heartbeat; those impulses cause the walls of the heart’s chambers to contract, in turn forcing blood in and out of those chambers in a cycle. In a 70-year lifetime, the heart beats more than 2.5 billion times.

The idea of a “broken heart” may have scientific merit, even if other heart-based symbolism is simply poetic. A traumatic event such as a breakup, divorce or family death can release stress hormones into the bloodstream, resulting in symptoms that mimic a heart attack, even increasing the risk of a real one.