1. How many times a day does your heart beat?
Answer: around 100 000 times a day!
2. How many gallons of blood does the heart pump each day?
Answer: around 2000 gallons.
3. What is the size of a healthy newborn child’s heart?
Answer: around the size of a walnut!
4. Do arteries carry blood towards or away from the heart?
Answer: away. It carries blood away from the heart to our body.
5. How often does a person die from heart disease in the United States?
Answer: every 33 seconds.
6. Your heart is the main organ for which major human body system?
Answer: the circulatory system.
7. How many chambers does the heart have?
Answer: four chambers. Right atrium, left atrium, right ventricle, and left ventricle.
8. Which type of blood vessel pumps oxygen-poor blood towards the heart?
Answer: the veins.
9. What is the name of the condition where your heart beats irregularly or too quickly/slowly?
Answer: arrhythmia.
10. How many miles of blood vessels are found in the human body?
Answer: 60 000 miles. You could circle the world more than twice!
11. Which day of the week is the most common to experience a serious heart attack?
Answer: Monday. This is called the “Blue Monday” effect and the reason is unknown.
12. Which condition occurs when your blood sugar is too high?
Answer: diabetes.
13. What is the name of the protective sac that covers the heart?
Answer: the pericardium. It is a fluid-filled sac important for heart function.
14. What is considered a normal resting heart rate (bpm)?
Answer: 60-100 bpm. Factors like sleep, exercise, weather, and medical conditions can raise or lower your heart rate outside this range.
15. How much does your heart weigh in ounces?
Answer: around 7-15 ounces. This equates to 200-425g.
16. True or false: avocado and olive oil are healthy fats that can protect heart health.
Answer: true. Other “heart-healthy” foods include fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
17. What is the name of the measure of force needed for your heart to pump blood through the arteries?
Answer: blood pressure.
18. What do you experience when blood flow to the heart is blocked or significantly reduced?
Answer: a heart attack.
19. The “lup-dup” sound of a heartbeat results from the opening and closing of..?
Answer: the heart’s valves. The valves keep blood flowing in the right direction.
20. True or false: heart cancer is rare.
Answer: true. Nonetheless, cancer that begins elsewhere (e.g., lungs) can expand to impact the heart.
21. What is the name of the largest blood vessel in the body?
Answer: the aorta.
22. What is the name of the muscular middle layer of the heart?
Answer: the myocardium
23. What two things is the blood responsible for delivering to all parts of the body?
Answer: nutrients and oxygen.
24. Which heart disease results from the buildup of fatty substances in the coronary arteries?
Answer: coronary heart disease. Healthy diets and physical activity can prevent the disease.
25. True or false: women on average have faster heartbeats than men.
Answer: true. Women typically have smaller-sized hearts than men; thus, the heart beats faster to pump the same amount of blood.
About the Author
Yasmin is a McMaster University graduate and Program Coordinator at SCIFAA. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Sustainable Chemistry and a Minor in Environmental Sciences.
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