What is a Heartbeat.
Heart beat refers to one complete cardiac cycle. In other words it refers to a complete cycle of heart muscle contraction and relaxation – contraction and relaxation of the atria (upper chambers of the heart) and contraction and relaxation of the ventricles (lower chambers of the heart). Relaxation of the heart chambers is referred to as diastole and contraction is referred to as systole.
Normal Heart Beat.
The normal heart beats at the same rhythm and in the same sequence and fashion. At rest, the heart normally beats 60 to 90 times per minute (average 72 times per minute). The number or rate of heart beats per unit of time (per minute) is called heart rate.
In an average lifetime, the heart beats more than 2.5 billion to 3 billion times without a pause. At each beat, the heart chambers are filled with fresh blood. At each beat, the heart pumps 60 to 90 ml of blood.
Healthy Heart Beat.
Measuring rate at which the heart beats also helps a training athlete to determine the efficiency of his or her heart. As training progresses, a decreased rate of heart beats at rest indicates that the heart is pumping with greater efficiency. In the first 6 to 12 weeks of training, resting heart rate decreases by 5% to 10%.
This happens because athletes develop better heart muscle due to their regular physical activity. And because of better heart muscle, at each heart beat, their heart pumps blood more efficiently. In other words, at each beat their heart pumps out more blood to the body.
The beating of the heart therefore slows down because the body requirements are met with lesser heart beats per minute. A slower beating of the heart in an otherwise healthy person, therefore is a healthy heart beat. Lance Armstrong, the American professional road cyclist, has a heart rate of 32 beats per minute. This indicates a healthy heart beat.
How Does Heart Beat.
The beating of the heart has a sequence with both the atria (upper chambers) contracting together followed by the contraction of both the ventricles (lower chambers). The heart beats on account of a specialized muscle called the cardiac muscle (myocardium) of which the wall of the heart is made of. This is an involuntary muscle which beats on its own and under control of the brain. As the beating of the heart is an involuntary action, you have no control over it.
Being a pump, the heart requires electricity to keep on pumping. The heart beats by generating its own electric impulse. Read heart electric conduction system.
Why Does the Heart Beat.
The heart beats to keep you alive and to perform its function to maintain the proper sequence of blood flow through the heart.
- The heart pumps blood carrying oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body via the aorta and the network of arteries in the body.
- The heart collects impure blood carrying impurities of metabolic waste and carbon dioxide (results of metabolism in body cells and tissues) which comes from all parts of the body.
- The heart pumps the impure blood to the lungs where the carbon dioxide is got rid and oxygen is taken up by the blood.
- The impurities are got rid off through the kidneys and skin via the urine and sweat.
The heart beats to perform the functions enumerated above.
Heart Beat and Pulse.
The pulse is an indicator of the rate at which your heart beats. Measuring your pulse will tell you how often your heart beats per unit of time (per minute). An irregular beating of the heart can be detected by your pulse and may indicate a medical condition.
Abnormal or Irregular Heart Beat.
As mentioned above, the normal heart, beats at the same rhythm which is synchronized. Any deviation from this normal rhythm is called an abnormal or irregular heart beat. An irregular heartbeat is called an arrhythmia or dysrhythmia.
Arrhythmias can occur with a normal heart rate or they can occur with a faster or slower heart rate. Arrhythmia with a faster heart rate is called tachyarrhythmia (more than 100 beats per minute) and with a slower heart rate is referred to as bradyarrhythmia (less than 50 heartbeats per minute). More details are explained in abnormal heartbeats.
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