The heart weighs between 7 and 15 ounces (200 to 425 grams)

and is a little larger than the size of your fist. By the end of a
long life, a person’s heart may have beat (expanded and
contracted) more than 3.5 billion times. In fact, each day, the
average heart beats 100,000 times, pumping about 2,000
gallons (7,571 liters) of blood.

Your heart is located between your lungs in the middle of your

chest, behind and slightly to the left of your breastbone
(sternum). A double-layered membrane called the pericardium
surrounds your heart like a sac. The outer layer of the
pericardium surrounds the roots of your heart’s major blood
vessels and is attached by ligaments to your spinal column,
diaphragm, and other parts of your body. The inner layer of the
pericardium is attached to the heart muscle. A coating of fluid
separates the two layers of membrane, letting the heart move
as it beats.
Your heart has 4 chambers. The upper chambers are called the
left and right atria, and the lower chambers are called the left
and right ventricles. A wall of muscle called the septum
separates the left and right atria and the left and right
ventricles. The left ventricle is the largest and strongest
chamber in your heart. The left ventricle’s chamber walls are
only about a half-inch thick, but they have enough force to
push blood through the aortic valve and into your body.
The Heart Valves
Four valves regulate blood flow through your heart:
• The tricuspid valve regulates blood flow between the right
atrium and right ventricle.
• The pulmonary valve controls blood flow from the right
ventricle into the pulmonary arteries, which carry blood to
your lungs to pick up oxygen.
• The mitral valve lets oxygen-rich blood from your lungs pass
from the left atrium into the left ventricle.
• The aortic valve opens the way for oxygen-rich blood to pass
from the left ventricle into the aorta, your body’s largest
artery.
The Conduction System
Electrical impulses from your heart muscle (the myocardium)
cause your heart to contract. This electrical signal begins in the
sinoatrial (SA) node, located at the top of the right atrium. The
SA node is sometimes called the heart’s “natural pacemaker.”
An electrical impulse from this natural pacemaker travels
through the muscle fibers of the atria and ventricles, causing
them to contract. Although the SA node sends electrical
impulses at a certain rate, your heart rate may still change
depending on physical demands, stress, or hormonal factors.
The Circulatory System
The heart and circulatory system make up your cardiovascular
system. Your heart works as a pump that pushes blood to the
organs, tissues, and cells of your body. Blood delivers oxygen
and nutrients to every cell and removes the carbon dioxide and
waste products made by those cells. Blood is carried from your
heart to the rest of your body through a complex network of
arteries, arterioles, and capillaries. Blood is returned to your
heart through venules and veins. If all the vessels of this
network in your body were laid end-to-end, they would extend
for about 60,000 miles (more than 96,500 kilometers), which is
far enough to circle the earth more than twice!