essay on the heart

Human heart: Anatomy, function & facts

The human heart is an organ that pumps blood throughout the body via the circulatory system.

Additional resources

The human heart is an organ that pumps blood throughout the body via the vessels of the circulatory system , supplying oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and removing carbon dioxide and other wastes. 

"The tissues of the body need a constant supply of nutrition in order to be active," said Dr. Lawrence Phillips, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York. "If [the heart] is not able to supply blood to the organs and tissues, they'll die."

The human heart is located in the center of the chest - slightly to the left of the sternum (breastbone). It sits between your lungs and is encased in a double-walled sac called the pericardium, according to the Texas Heart Institute . The pericardium serves to protect the heart and anchor it inside the chest. Pericardial fluid acts as a lubricant between the outer layer, the parietal pericardium, and the inner layer, the serous pericardium. The fluid lubricates the heart during contractions and movements of the lungs and diaphragm .

Related: Heart of the Matter: 7 Things to Know About Your Ticker

What does the human heart look like?

In humans, the heart is roughly the size of a large fist and weighs between about 10 and 12 ounces (280 and 340 grams) in men, and between 8 and 10 ounces (230 and 280 grams) in women, according to Henry Gray's " Anatomy of the Human Body ." 

The physiology of the heart basically comes down to "structure, electricity and plumbing," Phillips told Live Science.

The human heart has four chambers: two upper chambers (the atria) and two lower ones (the ventricles), according to the National Institutes of Health . The right atrium and right ventricle together make up the "right heart," and the left atrium and left ventricle make up the "left heart." A wall of muscle called the septum separates the two sides of the heart.

Related: Spaceflight and long-distance swimming shrink the heart

The heart's outer wall consists of three layers. The outermost wall layer, or epicardium, forms the inner wall of the pericardium. The middle layer, or myocardium, contains the muscle that contracts the heart. The inner layer, or endocardium, lines the heart chambers, according to the British Heart Foundation .

Connecting the upper and lower chambers of the heart are the atrioventricular (AV) valves — made up of the tricuspid valve and the mitral valve. The pulmonary semi-lunar valve separates the right ventricle from the pulmonary artery, and the aortic valve separates the left ventricle from the aorta. The heartstrings, or chordae tendinae, anchor the valves to heart muscles.

• Related; What is heart rate variability

How does the human heart work?

The heart circulates blood through two pathways: the pulmonary circuit and the systemic circuit.

In the pulmonary circuit, deoxygenated blood leaves the right ventricle of the heart via the pulmonary artery and travels to the lungs; then the oxygenated blood returns through the pulmonary vein to the left atrium of the heart, according to the journal Biomedical Sciences .

In the systemic circuit, oxygenated blood leaves the heart and travels through the left ventricle to the aorta, and from there enters the arteries and capillaries where it supplies the body's tissues with oxygen. Deoxygenated blood returns through veins to the venae cavae, re-entering the heart's right atrium.

Of course, the heart is also a muscle, so it needs a fresh supply of oxygen and nutrients, too, Phillips said.

"After the blood leaves the heart through the aortic valve, two sets of arteries bring oxygenated blood to feed the heart muscle," he said. The left main coronary artery, on one side of the aorta, branches into the left anterior descending artery and the left circumflex artery. The right coronary artery branches out on the right side of the aorta.

Blockage of any of these arteries can cause a heart attack , or damage to the heart muscle, Phillips said. A heart attack is distinct from cardiac arrest, which is a sudden loss of heart function that usually occurs as a result of electrical disturbances of the heart rhythm. A heart attack can lead to cardiac arrest, but the latter can also be caused by other problems, he said.

Related: Do other animals get heart attacks?

The heart contains electrical "pacemaker" cells, which cause it to contract — producing a heartbeat.

"Each cell has the ability to be the 'band leader' and [to] have everyone follow," Phillips said. In people with an irregular heartbeat, or atrial fibrillation, every cell tries to be the band leader, he said, which causes them to beat out of sync with one another.

A healthy heart contraction happens in five stages. In the first stage (early diastole), the heart is relaxed. Then the atrium contracts (atrial systole) to push blood into the ventricle. Next, the ventricles start contracting without changing volume. Then the ventricles continue contracting while empty. Finally, the ventricles stop contracting and relax. Then the cycle repeats. Valves prevent backflow, keeping the blood flowing in one direction through the heart.

By the end of the day, your heart will have beaten around 100,000 times (around 60 to 80 beats per minute). This will pump around 1.5 gallons (around 6.8 liters) of blood per minute through the 60,000 miles (around 97,000 kilometers) of blood vessels that are in the human body, according to the Cleveland Clinic . 

Can humans get heartworm?

Heartworm is a disease that affects pets - predominantly dogs - resulting in heart failure and organ damage, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The disease is caused by a parasitic worm - called Dirofilaria immitis - which enters the pet's body from an infected mosquito bite. Humans, however, are not a natural host for the parasites - the heartworm larvae often die before reaching adulthood - therefore cases in people are very rare. A review published in 2005 in the journal Veterinary Parasitology found that between 1941 and 2005, there had been 81 reported cases of heartworm in humans. 

• The National Institutes of Health has  information about heart and vascular diseases .
• The American Heart Association has tips about  how to keep your heart healthy .

This article was updated on Oct. 22, 2021 by Live Science staff writer Scott Dutfield. 

Follow Tanya Lewis on  Twitter . Follow us @livescience , Facebook & Google+ .

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Scott is a staff writer for How It Works magazine and has previously written for other science and knowledge outlets, including BBC Wildlife magazine, World of Animals magazine, Space.com and All About History magazine . Scott has a masters in science and environmental journalism and a bachelor's degree in conservation biology degree from the University of Lincoln in the U.K. During his academic and professional career, Scott has participated in several animal conservation projects, including English bird surveys, wolf monitoring in Germany and leopard tracking in South Africa. 

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The Anatomy of the Heart, Its Structures, and Functions

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• Cell Biology
• Weather & Climate
• B.A., Biology, Emory University
• A.S., Nursing, Chattahoochee Technical College

The heart is the organ that helps supply blood and oxygen to all parts of the body. It is divided by a partition (or septum) into two halves. The halves are, in turn, divided into four chambers. The heart is situated within the chest cavity and surrounded by a fluid-filled sac called the pericardium. This amazing muscle produces electrical impulses that cause the heart to contract, pumping blood throughout the body. The heart and the circulatory system together form the cardiovascular system.

Heart Anatomy

The heart is made up of four chambers:

• Atria : Upper two chambers of the heart.
• Ventricles : Lower two chambers of the heart.

The heart wall consists of three layers:

• Epicardium : The outer layer of the wall of the heart.
• Myocardium : The muscular middle layer of the wall of the heart.
• Endocardium : The inner layer of the heart.

Cardiac Conduction

Cardiac conduction is the rate at which the heart conducts electrical impulses. Heart nodes and nerve fibers play an important role in causing the heart to contract.

• Atrioventricular Bundle : A bundle of fibers that carry cardiac impulses.
• Atrioventricular Node : A section of nodal tissue that delays and relays cardiac impulses.
• Purkinje Fibers : Fiber branches that extend from the atrioventricular bundle.
• Sinoatrial Nod e: A section of nodal tissue that sets the rate of contraction for the heart.

Cardiac Cycle

The Cardiac cycle is the sequence of events that occurs when the heart beats. Below are the two phases of the cardiac cycle:

• Diastole phase : The heart ventricles are relaxed and the heart fills with blood.
• Systole phase : The ventricles contract and pump blood to the arteries.

Heart valves are flap-like structures that allow blood to flow in one direction. Below are the four valves of the heart:

• Aortic valve : Prevents the backflow of blood as it is pumped from the left ventricle to the aorta.
• Mitral valve : Prevents the backflow of blood as it is pumped from the left atrium to the left ventricle.
• Pulmonary valve : Prevents the backflow of blood as it is pumped from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery .
• Tricuspid valve : Prevents the backflow of blood as it is pumped from the right atrium to the right ventricle.

Blood Vessels

Blood vessels are intricate networks of hollow tubes that transport blood throughout the entire body. The following are some of the blood vessels associated with the heart:

• Aorta : The largest artery in the body, of which most major arteries branch off from.
• Brachiocephalic artery : Carries oxygenated blood from the aorta to the head, neck, and arm regions of the body.
• Carotid arteries : Supply oxygenated blood to the head and neck regions of the body.
• Common iliac arteries: Carry oxygenated blood from the abdominal aorta to the legs and feet.
• Coronary arteries : Carry oxygenated and nutrient-filled blood to the heart muscle.
• Pulmonary artery : Carries deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle to the lungs.
• Subclavian arteries : Supply oxygenated blood to the arms.
• Brachiocephalic veins : Two large veins that join to form the superior vena cava.
• Common iliac veins : Veins that join to form the inferior vena cava.
• Pulmonary veins : Transport oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart.
• Venae cavae : Transport de-oxygenated blood from various regions of the body to the heart.
• The Cardiac Cycle
• The Function of the Heart Ventricles
• Circulatory System: Pulmonary and Systemic Circuits
• How the Main Pulmonary Artery Delivers Blood to the Lungs
• Anatomy of the Heart: Valves
• 4 Steps of Cardiac Conduction
• Atria of the Heart Function
• Anatomy of the Heart: Aorta
• Heart Nodes and Electrical Conduction
• Superior and Inferior Venae Cavae
• Evolution of the Human Heart’s Four Chambers
• Coronary Arteries and Heart Disease
• The 3 Layers of the Heart Wall
• Anatomy of the Heart: Pericardium
• Artery Structure, Function, and Disease
• Types of Circulatory Systems: Open vs. Closed

• Biology Article

Human Heart

The heart is a muscular organ that is situated in the front of the chest. It pumps blood all through the body in a process called circulation. Apart from the heart, the blood vessels and blood as a unit constitute the cardiovascular system.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Functions of the Human Heart

Types of Circulation

Pericardium, structure of the heart wall, chambers of the heart, blood vessels, facts about human heart.

• Important Questions about the Human Heart
• Practise Labelling the Human Heart Diagram

Introduction to the Human Heart

The human heart is one of the most important organs responsible for sustaining life. It is a muscular organ with four chambers. The size of the heart is the size of about a clenched fist.

The human heart functions throughout a person’s lifespan and is one of the most robust and hardest working muscles in the human body.

Besides humans, most other animals also possess a heart that pumps blood throughout their bodies. Even invertebrates such as grasshoppers possess a heart like pumping organ, though they do not function the same way a human heart does.

Also Refer:  Human Circulatory System

Position of Heart in Human Body

The human heart is located between the lungs in the thoracic cavity, slightly towards the left of the sternum (breastbone). It is derived from the embryonic mesodermal germ layer.

The Function of Heart

The function of the heart in any organism is to maintain a constant flow of blood throughout the body. This replenishes oxygen and circulates nutrients among the cells and tissues.

Following are the main functions of the heart:

• One of the primary functions of the human heart is to pump blood throughout the body.
• Blood delivers oxygen, hormones, glucose and other components to various parts of the body, including the human heart.
• The heart also ensures that adequate blood pressure is maintained in the body

There are two types of circulation within the body, namely pulmonary circulation and systemic circulation.

Pulmonary circulation (blue) and Systemic circulation (red)

• Pulmonary circulation is a portion of circulation responsible for carrying deoxygenated blood away from the heart , to the lungs and then bringing oxygenated blood back to the heart.
• Systemic circulation is another portion of circulation where the oxygenated blood is pumped from the heart to every organ and tissue in the body, and deoxygenated blood comes back again to the heart.

Now, the heart itself is a muscle and therefore, it needs a constant supply of oxygenated blood. This is where another type of circulation comes into play, the coronary circulation.

• Coronary circulation is an essential portion of the circulation, where oxygenated blood is supplied to the heart. This is important as the heart is responsible for supplying blood throughout the body.
• Moreover, organs like the brain need a steady flow of fresh, oxygenated blood to ensure functionality.

In a nutshell, the circulatory system plays a vital role in supplying oxygen, and nutrients and removing carbon dioxide and other wastes from the body. Let us gain a deeper insight into the various anatomical  structures of the heart:

Structure of the Human Heart

The human heart is about the size of a human fist and is divided into four chambers, namely two ventricles and two atria . The ventricles are the chambers that pump blood and the atrium are the chambers that receive blood. Among these both the right atrium and ventricle make up the “right heart,” and the left atrium and ventricle make up the “left heart.”  The structure of the heart also houses the biggest artery in the body – the aorta .

The right and the left region of the heart are separated by a wall of muscle called the septum. The right ventricle pumps the blood to the lungs for re-oxygenation through the pulmonary arteries. The right semilunar valves close and prevent the blood from flowing back into the heart. Then, the oxygenated blood is received by the left atrium from the lungs via the pulmonary veins.  Read on to explore more about the structure of the heart.

External Structure of Heart

One of the very first structures which can be observed when the external structure of the heart is viewed is the pericardium.

The human heart is situated to the left of the chest and is enclosed within a fluid-filled cavity described as the pericardial cavity. The walls and lining of the pericardial cavity are made up of a membrane known as the pericardium.

The pericardium is a fibre membrane found as an external covering around the heart. It protects the heart by producing a serous fluid, which serves to lubricate the heart and prevent friction between the surrounding organs. Apart from the lubrication, the pericardium also helps by holding the heart in its position and by maintaining a hollow space for the heart to expand itself when it is full. The pericardium has two exclusive layers—

• Visceral Layer:  It  directly covers the outside of the heart.
• Parietal Layer: It  forms a sac around the outer region of the heart that contains the fluid in the pericardial cavity.

The heart wall is made up of 3 layers, namely:

• Epicardium – Epicardium is the outermost layer of the heart. It is composed of a thin-layered membrane that serves to lubricate and protect the outer section.
• Myocardium – This is a layer of muscle tissue and it constitutes the middle layer wall of the heart. It contributes to the thickness and is responsible for the pumping action.
• Endocardium – It is the innermost layer that lines the inner heart chambers and covers the heart valves. Furthermore, it prevents the blood from sticking to the inner walls, thereby preventing potentially fatal blood clots.

Internal Structure of Heart

The internal structure of the heart is rather intricate with several chambers and valves that control the flow of blood.

Vertebrate hearts can be classified based on the number of chambers present. For instance, most fish have two chambers, and reptiles and amphibians have three chambers. Avian and mammalian hearts consists of four chambers. Humans are mammals; hence, we have four chambers, namely:

• Left atrium
• Right atrium
• Left ventricle
• Right ventricle

Atria are thin and have less muscular walls and are smaller than ventricles. These are the blood-receiving chambers that are fed by the large veins.

Ventricles are larger and more muscular chambers responsible for pumping and pushing blood out into circulation. These are connected to larger arteries that deliver blood for circulation.

The right ventricle and right atrium are comparatively smaller than the left chambers. The walls consist of fewer muscles compared to the left portion, and the size difference is based on their functions. The blood originating from the right side flows through the pulmonary circulation, while blood arising from the left chambers is pumped throughout the body.

In organisms with closed circulatory systems, the blood flows within vessels of varying sizes. All vertebrates, including humans, possess this type of circulation. The external structure of the heart has many blood vessels that form a network, with other major vessels emerging from within the structure. The blood vessels typically comprise the following:

• Veins supply deoxygenated blood to the heart via inferior and superior vena cava, and it eventually drains into the right atrium.
• Capillaries are tiny, tube-like vessels which form a network between the arteries to veins.
• Arteries are muscular-walled tubes mainly involved in supplying oxygenated blood away from the heart to all other parts of the body. Aorta is the largest of the arteries and it branches off into various smaller arteries throughout the body.

Also Refer: Difference between Arteries and Veins

Valves are flaps of fibrous tissues located in the cardiac chambers between the veins. They ensure that the blood flows in a single direction (unidirectional). Flaps also prevent the blood from flowing backwards. Based on their function, valves are of two types:

• Atrioventricular valves are between ventricles and atria. The valve between the right ventricle and right atrium is the tricuspid valve, and the one which is found between the left ventricle and left atrium is known as the mitral valve.
• Semilunar valves are located between the left ventricle and the aorta. It is also found between the pulmonary artery and the right ventricle.

Also Read: Blood and its Composition

• The heart pumps around 6,000-7,500 litres of blood in a day throughout the body.
• The heart is situated at the centre of the chest and points slightly towards the left.
• On average, the heart beats about 100,000 times a day, i.e., around 3 billion beats in a lifetime.
• The average male heart weighs around 280 to 340 grams (10 to 12 ounces). In females, it weighs around 230 to 280 grams (8 to 10 ounces).
• An adult’s heart beats about 60 to 100 times per minute, and a newborn baby’s heart beats at a faster pace than an adult which is about 90 to 190 beats per minute.

Also Refer:  Heart Health

To know more about the human heart structure and function, or any other related concepts such as arteries and veins, the internal structure of the heart, and the external structure of the heart,  e xplore BYJU’S Biology. Also, learn an  easy diagram of the heart, concepts and relevant questions for the human heart for Class 10  by downloading BYJU’S – The Learning App.

More to Explore:

• Heart Diseases
• Hepatic Portal System

Frequently Asked Questions

1. what is pulmonary circulation explain..

Pulmonary circulation is a type of blood circulation responsible for carrying deoxygenated blood away from the heart, and to the lungs, where it is oxygenated. The system then brings oxygenated blood back to the heart to be pumped throughout the body.

2. Define systemic circulation.

In systemic circulation, the heart pumps the oxygenated blood through the arteries to every organ and tissue in the body, and then back again to the heart through a system of veins.

3. Elaborate on coronary circulation and its significance.

The heart is a muscle, and it needs a constant supply of oxygenated blood to survive and work effectively. This is where coronary circulation fulfils this function through a network of arteries and veins in the heart. The coronary arteries supply oxygenated blood to the heart, and the cardiac veins drain the blood once it has been deoxygenated by the tissues of the heart.

4. Briefly explain the structure of the human heart.

The human heart is divided into four chambers, namely two ventricles and two atria. The ventricles are the chambers that pump blood and atrium are the chambers that receive the blood. Among which, the right atrium and ventricle make up the “right portion of the heart”, and the left atrium and ventricle make up the “left portion of the heart.”

5. Name the chambers of the heart.

6. what is pericardium explain its function..

The pericardium is a fibrous membrane that envelops the heart. It also serves a protective function by producing a serous fluid, which lubricates the heart and prevents friction between the surrounding organs. Furthermore, the pericardium also holds the heart in its position and provides a hollow space for the heart to expand and contract.

7. Explain the three layers of the heart wall.

• Epicardium – This is the outermost layer of the heart. It is composed of a thin layer of membrane that protects and lubricates the outer section.
• Myocardium – This is a layer of muscle tissue that constitutes the middle layer wall of the heart. It is responsible for the heart’s “pumping” action.
• Endocardium – The innermost layer that lines the inner heart chambers and covers the heart valves. Prevents blood from sticking, thereby avoiding the formation of fatal blood clots.

8. Explain the three major blood vessels of the human body.

The  blood vessels comprise:

• Veins – It supplies deoxygenated blood to the heart via inferior and superior vena cava, eventually draining into the right atrium.
• Capillaries – They are minuscule, tube-like vessels which form a network between the arteries and veins.
• Arteries – These are muscular-walled tubes responsible for supplying oxygenated blood away from the heart to all other parts of the body.

9. What is the function of the heart valves? Provide examples of various valves.

Valves are flaps of tissues that are present in cardiac chambers between the veins. They prevent the backflow of blood. Examples include the atrioventricular valves, tricuspid valves, mitral valves and the semilunar valves.

10. What is meant by myocardial infarction?

Myocardial infarction is a serious medical condition where the blood flow to the heart is reduced or entirely stopped. This causes oxygen deprivation in the heart muscles, and prolonged deprivation can cause tissues to die.

Label the Heart Diagram below:

Practice your understanding of the heart structure. Drag and drop the correct labels to the boxes with the matching, highlighted structures.

Instructions to use:

• Hover the mouse over one of the empty boxes.
• One part in the image gets highlighted.
• Identify the highlighted part and drag and drop the correct label into the same box.
• After finishing all the labelling, check your answers.
• Semilunar valve
• Pulmonary artery
• Pulmonary vein

Put your understanding of this concept to test by answering a few MCQs. Click ‘Start Quiz’ to begin!

Select the correct answer and click on the “Finish” button Check your score and answers at the end of the quiz

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The human heart

Find out more about the human heart – the main organ of your circulatory system – and its essential role in the body.

What is the heart?

The heart is one of the most important organs in the human body. It is a powerful fist-sized muscle that pumps blood around the body through a network of blood vessels – together, the heart and blood vessels make up the body’s cardiovascular system.

Our hearts beat on average 72 times every minute – over 100,000 times per day. Each minute, vital materials are circulated in our blood and waste products are removed. Each minute counts in helping our body function.

• Download a fun poster to help children learn more about the heart   (2.2MB PDF)

What side is the heart located?

The heart is located in the front of the chest, just behind and slightly left of the breastbone, and between the left and right lungs. Because the heart sits more in the left side of the chest, the left lung is slightly smaller to make room. The ribcage protects the heart.

Heart anatomy

The heart muscle consists of walls, chambers, valves, blood vessels and an electrical conduction system. The entire heart is surrounded by a protective sac called the pericardium that produces fluid to lubricate the heart and protect it from rubbing against other organs.

The heart walls

The heart walls are the muscles that contract and relax to pump blood around the body. There is a layer of muscular tissue (septum) that divides the heart walls into the left and right sides.

The heart walls have three layers: endocardium (inner layer), myocardium (muscular middle layer) and epicardium (protective outer layer that makes up one layer of the pericardium).

The heart chambers

The heart is divided into four chambers: two on the right (right atrium and right ventricle) and two on the left (left atrium and left ventricle). The atria are the upper chambers, and the ventricles are the lower chambers.

• Right atrium: The right atrium receives oxygen-poor blood from the veins and pumps it to the right ventricle.
• Right ventricle: The right ventricle receives the oxygen-poor blood from the right atrium and pumps it to the lungs through the pulmonary arteries, where the blood is loaded with oxygen.
• Left atrium: The left atrium receives the oxygen-rich blood from the lungs through the pulmonary veins and pumps it to the left ventricle.
• Left ventricle: The left ventricle receives the oxygen-rich blood from the left atrium and pumps it to the rest of the body through the aorta. The left ventricle is slightly larger than the right ventricle and is the strongest chamber of the heart. The contractions by the left ventricle are what create blood pressure.

The heart chambers receive oxygen-poor blood from the veins and pump oxygen-rich blood around the body.

Heart valves

The heart has four valves that act like doors to each of its chambers.

• Tricuspid valve: The tricuspid valve lies between the right atrium and right ventricle.
• Mitral valve: The mitral valve lies between the left atrium and left ventricle.
• Aortic valve: The aortic valve lies between the left ventricle and the aorta, the main artery that carries oxygen-rich blood to the body.
• Pulmonic valve: The pulmonic valve lies between the right ventricle and the pulmonary arteries, the arteries that carry oxygen-poor blood to the lungs to be loaded with oxygen.

The valves open and close to allow blood to flow through the heart, and they keep the blood moving in the correct direction by opening only one way and only when they need to. The valves have flaps that open and close once during each heartbeat.

The heart valves open and close to control the flow of blood through the heart chambers.

Blood vessels

The heart pumps blood through three main types of blood vessels: arteries, veins and capillaries.

• Arteries: Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart throughout the body. They begin with the aorta, the large artery leaving the heart, and branch several times, becoming smaller and smaller as they carry blood further away from the heart to the organs.
• Veins: Veins carry oxygen-poor blood from the body back to the heart, where it can be pumped to the lungs to be loaded up with oxygen again. Veins become larger and larger as they get closer to the heart.
• Capillaries: Capillaries are the small blood vessels that connect the arteries and veins and through which the body exchanges oxygen-rich blood with oxygen-poor blood. Their thin walls allow oxygen, nutrients and waste products like carbon dioxide to pass to and from the cells of the organs.

The heart requires a supply of oxygen and nutrients to function properly, but it does not receive any nourishment from the blood that it pumps through its chambers. Instead, it receives its own supply of oxygen-rich blood through the coronary arteries, a network of arteries that run along the surface of the heart. In coronary artery disease, fatty plaque builds up in the coronary arteries and prevents the heart from getting the oxygen-rich blood it needs.

Electrical conduction system

The heart has an electrical conduction system that powers the pumping of the heart, which in turn keeps blood circulating through the body. This system includes two nodes and a specialised network of electrical bundles and fibres.

• Sinoatrial (SA) node: This small bundle of specialised cells located in the right atrium is known as the heart’s natural pacemaker. It sends the signals that make the heart beat and sets the rate and rhythm of the heartbeat.
• Atrioventricular (AV) node: This cluster of cells is located in the centre of the heart, between the atria and ventricles. It carries electrical signals from the heart’s upper chambers to its lower ones.
• His-Purkinje network: This pathway of fibres sends the electrical impulse to the walls of the ventricles, causing them to contract and pump blood out.

The electrical conduction system of the heart triggers its beating.

Heart function

The main function of the heart is to pump oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood around the body. This circulation of blood around the body results in the continuous exchange of oxygen-rich blood with oxygen-poor blood, providing all systems of the body with the oxygen and nutrients they need to function properly.

The heart works with other bodily systems to control heart rate and blood pressure .

How does the heart beat?

Heartbeats are triggered by the electrical impulses that travel through the electrical conduction system of the heart. They occur when the heart contracts and relaxes. The four chambers of the heart work together, alternately contracting and relaxing, to pump blood through the heart. When the ventricles contract, blood is forced into the blood vessels going to the lungs and body. When the ventricles relax, they are filled with blood coming from the atria.

The electrical impulses start in the SA node, located in the right atrium. This electrical activity spreads through the walls of the atria, causing them to contract.

The AV node, located between the atria and ventricles, slows this electrical activity before it enters the ventricles, giving the atria time to contract before the ventricles do.

The electrical activity then passes through the His-Purkinje network to the walls of the ventricles, causing them to contract. This contraction pumps blood out to the lungs and body.

The SA node fires another electrical impulse, and the cycle begins again.

How does the heart work with other organs

The heart works with other systems in the body to control the heart rate, blood pressure and other body functions. The primary systems are the nervous system and endocrine system.

• Nervous system: The nervous system originates in the brain. It controls movements, thoughts and other body systems and processes. The nervous system helps control the heart rate by sending signals that tell the heart when to beat faster or slower, such as during times of stress or rest.
• Endocrine system: The endocrine system is made up of glands that create and release hormones that control nearly all the processes in the body. These hormones tell the blood vessels to constrict or relax, which affects blood pressure . Hormones from the thyroid gland can also tell the heart to beat faster or slower.

Problems with these body systems can affect the heart and lead to cardiovascular disease . For example, diabetes is an endocrine disorder that develops when not enough of the hormone insulin is made, or when insulin in the body does not work as it should. Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and it can also cause damage to the nervous system.

Conditions that may affect the human heart

Conditions that affect the heart are among the most common type of disorder. In fact, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the world’s leading cause of death and disability. CVD refers to all the diseases of the heart and circulation, including the following.

• Atrial fibrillation : Atrial fibrillation is a common, irregular heartbeat condition that is linked to one in three strokes.
• Coronary heart disease : Also known as coronary artery disease, coronary heart disease is a common condition where the major blood vessels to the heart (coronary arteries) become blocked and narrowed, restricting the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart.
• Diabetes : Diabetes is a condition in which the body cannot maintain healthy blood glucose levels. People living with diabetes are over twice as likely to develop CVD as the general population.
• Heart attack : A heart attack occurs when the heart is deprived of oxygen due to a blocked artery, and it can lead to death if not treated immediately. It is also known as myocardial infarction.
• Heart failure : Heart failure is when the heart does not work as well as it should in pumping blood and oxygen around the body. Heart failure preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a “stiff” type of heart failure where the heart cannot relax properly, is the most common type.
• Stroke : Stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is suddenly cut off, such as by a blood clot blocking an artery to the brain. It is a leading cause of disability globally.

The main underlying cause of CVD is atherosclerosis – the build-up of fatty plaques on the walls of the arteries. These plaques are made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances. Over time, the plaques harden, narrowing the opening of the arteries and restricting blood flow. These atherosclerotic plaques can break, forming a thrombus (blood clot) that can further limit, or even block the flow of blood throughout the body.

How to keep the heart healthy

There are several factors that can impact the health of the heart and increase the risk of heart conditions . Positive lifestyle changes to help keep the heart healthy include the following.

• Eat a nutritious diet that includes a variety of colourful fruit and vegetables , as well as wholegrains and protein .
• Limit intake of processed foods. It’s important to check the nutrition labels of these foods and limit their intake, as they can contain high amounts of saturated fat , trans fat, LDL cholesterol , salt and sugar.
• Avoid soft drinks and other sugary drinks; stay well-hydrated with water instead.
• Choose healthier sources of fat , such as nuts, seeds, avocado and salmon.
• Make regular exercise or physical activity part of your daily routine. Experts recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days of the week. Exercise sessions do not need to be done in one block – even small amounts of activity can help.
• Maintain a healthy weight by eating a balanced, nutritious diet and exercising regularly .
• Limit intake of alcohol . Excessive amounts of alcohol can increase the levels of some fats in the blood, reduce the levels of “good” (HDL) cholesterol and increase blood pressure . These can all increase the risk of CVD.
• Quit smoking . Smoking significantly increases the risk of CVD. Both first-hand smoking and long-term exposure to second-hand smoke can damage the arteries that supply blood to the heart and body.

How is HRI protecting the human heart?

HRI conducts groundbreaking research across a broad range of heart-related topics, in our mission to reduce the number of people who die from diseases affecting the heart and to offer a better life for those already suffering from heart disease by developing new treatments and medical devices.

Our Cardiovascular-protective Signalling and Drug Discovery Group is investigating how to repurpose existing drugs for next-generation therapies for heart disease and CVDs.

Our Clinical Research Group is conducting research to detect the earliest signs of heart and blood vessel damage with a view to preventing serious complications later in life due to CVDs such as congenital heart disease .

Our Heart Rhythm and Stroke Prevention Group is investigating strategies to screen for the heart condition atrial fibrillation in the general population, to prevent associated stroke .

Our Thrombosis Group is undertaking research to understand how blood clot ( thrombosis ) formation occurs in healthy individuals. This research is crucial for developing safer and more effective therapies for coronary heart disease , amongst other CVDs.

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“How the Heart Works”: Brief Description of the Functions of the Heart Essay

Introduction, literature review, works cited.

The heart is arguably the most important organ in human physiology. Its structure and functionality are amazing, to say the least. Through many years of study, scholars and researchers have relentlessly sought out to understand these two aspects of the human heart. As such, this paper shall set out to explore the main functions of the heart about an article published in the magazine “USA today”, titled “How the heart works – descriptions of the various parts of the heart, their functions, and how they work together – Brief Article”.

According to the article, the heart is described as an energetic muscular organ located between the lungs that continuously pumps blood throughout the body via the circulatory system. The heart receives the deoxygenated blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs where the waste (Co2) is removed and gets oxygenated. It is then passed back to the heart where it is discharged to the body yet again.

The human heart is made up of four chambers and several valves which regulate and monitor blood flow within the body. The chambers include; the right atria, right ventricle, left atria and left ventricle. They are strategically located and serve as the pumps through which the blood flows into and out of the heart. Additionally, they are supported by four valves that control the inflow and outflow of the blood towards specific directions by opening and closing systematically. These valves have a set of leaflets that are forced open by the pressure exerted by the blood in motion and are designed specifically to allow a single direction of blood flow.

The heart plays a pivotal role in the circulatory system. Without it, other organs would fail due to a lack of oxygen and other nutrients that are transported throughout the body by the blood. Therefore, the full functionality of the heart is indeed crucial to our survival and existence. The article states that the deoxygenated blood from the veins is received into the heart by the right atrium. This blood is often dark red due to the high amounts of Co2 accumulated from the various tissues and cells within the body. Soon after the atrium fills up, an electrical signal is released causing the heat to beat. In this process, the atria contracts, pushing the blood down to the right ventricle. When this chamber contracts, the venous blood is pumped via the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary artery which directs it into the lungs for the purification process.

In the lungs, the venous blood is cleansed of its Co2 and at the same time gets oxygenated. After this process, it leaves the lungs and flows into the left atrium. At this stage, it is bright red due to a lack of Co2 and a high presence of oxygen. The contraction of the atria forces the blood down to the left ventricle through the mitral valve after which it is pumped to the aorta. The aorta is responsible for the distribution of the blood to the various body tissues.

The article further asserts that for the heart to function accordingly, these four chambers must coordinate efficiently. The contraction of these chambers is triggered by an electrical signal generated by specialized cells within the right atrium known as the sinoatrial node (SA). This is the natural pacemaker that causes the heart to beat through a series of evenly and timely spaced electrical discharges. However, emotional and hormonal factors may lead to an increase of these discharges, therefore, leading to a faster or slower heartbeat.

The electrical impulses move gradually from the right atria through the other chambers and in the process cause the systematic contraction and relaxation of the heart which allows the blood flow. Without such a mechanism, there may arise various complications which may have devastating effects on our health and lives.

This article has provided a very informative and elaborate discussion on the functions of the heart. Conclusively, it is clear that the heart is a very important part of our bodies and functionality, from the article review, the various parts have been highlighted and their functions and contributions discussed. It is therefore crucial that each person take ample precautionary measures to ensure that their heart is at maximum health at all times in order o avoid the dangers that may befall them due to health negligence.

USA Today. “How the heart works – descriptions of the various parts of the heart, their functions, and how they work together – Brief Article”. Society for the Advancement of Education, 1997. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2022, March 13). “How the Heart Works”: Brief Description of the Functions of the Heart. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-the-heart-works-brief-description-of-the-functions-of-the-heart/

"“How the Heart Works”: Brief Description of the Functions of the Heart." IvyPanda , 13 Mar. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/how-the-heart-works-brief-description-of-the-functions-of-the-heart/.

IvyPanda . (2022) '“How the Heart Works”: Brief Description of the Functions of the Heart'. 13 March.

IvyPanda . 2022. "“How the Heart Works”: Brief Description of the Functions of the Heart." March 13, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-the-heart-works-brief-description-of-the-functions-of-the-heart/.

1. IvyPanda . "“How the Heart Works”: Brief Description of the Functions of the Heart." March 13, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-the-heart-works-brief-description-of-the-functions-of-the-heart/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "“How the Heart Works”: Brief Description of the Functions of the Heart." March 13, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-the-heart-works-brief-description-of-the-functions-of-the-heart/.

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An Anatomical Essay on the Movement of the Heart

By Jonathan Sawday ~

Originally published in Hidden Treasure: The National Library of Medicine , 2011.

Except that it didn’t quite happen in that way. A conservative by nature, in setting out his ideas on circulation, Harvey was in some respects following well-trodden ground: the view that blood moved through the infamous “invisible pores” of the septum of the heart (a key element in the Galenic system) had been denied by the Paduan anatomist Realdo Colombo (1516–59) in the mid-sixteenth century; the pulmonary transit of the blood had been posited by Arabic authorities in the thirteenth century, and again by the Protestant heretic Michael Servetus (1511?–53) some seventy years before De motu cordis appeared. In fact, what Harvey believed he was doing was reasserting the primacy of Aristotle’s biological views. As explained in the crucial eighth chapter of De motu cordis , Harvey’s own Aristotelian view of the primacy of the heart and of the importance of circular motion rested, in the end, on a metaphorical view of the world, in which Nature (“who does nothing in vain”) endlessly replicates herself. Blood circulates in the body, Harvey claimed, in much the same way that the planetary bodies move in circles, or that moisture, warmed by the sun, circulates in the atmosphere. The heart was much more than a mere pumping mechanism. Instead, its “fiery heat” represented a “store of life…the sun of our microcosm.”

In restoring the heart to this quasi-mystical primacy Harvey, a Royalist, was also implicitly making a political statement. De motu cordis was extravagantly dedicated to King Charles, whom Harvey addressed as “the sun of his microcosm, the heart of the state.” The function of kings, hearts, and the sun was essentially the same: to spread life and succor (“power…and grace”) throughout their respective domains. In 1628, the year in which Harvey’s treatise appeared, the king had already embarked upon his disastrous confrontation with Parliament, which would lead to the eleven years of “personal rule” in which Charles attempted to govern the macrocosm of the state in much the same way that Harvey believed the heart “ruled” the body: in splendid isolation.

Jonathan Sawday is the Walter J. Ong, SJ, Chair in the Humanities in the Department of English at Saint Louis University. His books include The Body Emblazoned: Dissection and the Human Body in Renaissance Culture and Engines of the Imagination: Renaissance Culture and the Rise of the Machine . He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, of the English Association, and of the Royal Society for the Arts.

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Lifesaving Tips to Stay Heart-Healthy

• Friday, February 17, 2023

Most people know to seek immediate medical care when feeling pain or pressure in their chest, says cardiothoracic surgeon, Dawn Hui, MD.  But our heart gives us early warning signs before a major heart attack that are often ignored including heartburn and swelling. 

Here’s how to recognize the more subtle symptoms of heart disease — and what to do about them.

Watch the video.

Make an appointment  with a primary care provider to help lower your risk factors. 

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I Guess I Can Do It With a Literal Broken Heart

As the Eras Tour resumes today, one ELLE editor shares how a song from Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department had an unexpected connection to his health.

The other week, I felt like Taylor Swift.

No, I haven’t been in the recording studio writing an album, touring the globe, or raking in dough. I wasn’t shimmering in a body suit or performing to millions of fans. I didn’t break Spotify records with The Tortured Poets Department. Instead, I filled the holes in my busy week by listening and dancing to “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” over and over again, claiming the track as my own.

Whenever I’m in a rotten head space, I lose myself to the music. Whether there are people around or not, I dream of flouncing around a dance floor on my wedding day or performing in front of a stadium to thousands of fans. It’s therapy, the light at the end of my day, and often, what I look forward to the most: a 10 P.M. dance break.

This past December, when I was in Los Angeles for our annual Women in Hollywood event, I ended one particularly stressful day with a tango. I strutted through my hotel room in my black, tiny underwear and took a few minutes to perform my greatest living room hits, culminating with “Breathless,” by the Corrs.

I started dancing, hitting each body roll and ass shake, giving the performance of a lifetime. Then, at the end of the song, I pumped my hand into the sky like I was holding a microphone. A sharp pain shot across my chest and body. Within a matter of seconds, my tour came to an end. I was on my bed, almost immobile and worried about what I had just done. The pain slowly subsided. I drifted off to sleep and hoped the next day would bring healing.

The following morning, I thought all was fixed. I went to a boxing class, hit a punch, and the pain came right back. I convinced myself I was having a heart attack. I looked up the symptoms on WebMD, talked with some coworkers, and then thought it was all over. I tracked down the nearest hospital, called my family, and tried to talk it through with a provider on the phone. After my anxiety came down, and I got some professional advice, I realized it was most likely a pull. I decided to power through. I could still move.

I went through the rest of that week in Los Angeles assisting with our event with a dull pain in my chest. When I got back to New York, my primary care provider confirmed my suspicions: I had pulled a muscle. It would take some time to heal. He still wanted to run an electrocardiogram (EKG) to be safe.

After being hooked up to the machine as if I were a science experiment, my doctor came back. He recommended I see a cardiologist as soon as possible. I had pulled my chest, but something else was, in fact, wrong.

Six doctor’s appointments, two weeks on a heart monitor, and an ultrasound later, I was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW). Essentially, I have an extra pathway in my heart where signals sometimes travel. My resting heart rate can skyrocket to 200 beats per minute. When not treated properly, WPW can lead to sudden cardiac arrest and death in children and young adults.

.css-1aear8u:before{margin:0 auto 0.9375rem;width:34px;height:25px;content:'';display:block;background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-1aear8u:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/elle/static/images/quote.fddce92.svg);} .css-1bvxk2j{font-family:SaolDisplay,SaolDisplay-fallback,SaolDisplay-roboto,SaolDisplay-local,Georgia,Times,serif;font-size:1.625rem;font-weight:normal;line-height:1.2;margin:0rem;margin-bottom:0.3125rem;}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1bvxk2j{font-size:2.125rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1bvxk2j{font-size:2.125rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1bvxk2j{font-size:2.25rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 73.75rem){.css-1bvxk2j{font-size:2.375rem;line-height:1.2;}}.css-1bvxk2j b,.css-1bvxk2j strong{font-family:inherit;font-weight:bold;}.css-1bvxk2j em,.css-1bvxk2j i{font-style:italic;font-family:inherit;}.css-1bvxk2j i,.css-1bvxk2j em{font-style:italic;} I’d feel a heftier heart rate when I had anxiety or was listening to fast-paced music. ... I had convinced myself that was something everyone experienced. They told me it was not.”

Every doctor I saw asked if I felt this high heart rate. I commented that I did, but I thought it was normal. I’d feel a heftier heart rate when I had anxiety or was listening to fast-paced music. I’d quickly lose my breath while running or feel pressure in my chest at my weekly Barry’s classes. I had convinced myself that was something everyone experienced. They told me it was not. Some patients don’t catch this condition until they’re elderly; apparently I was lucky I caught it now. We could fix it with a simple surgery, an ablation, which had a 96 percent success rate. I said yes to the procedure, and we got a date on the calendar.

The night before the surgery, I couldn’t help but play a mental supercut of the moments in my life that had made me pause, moments that made me, in reference to the song that caused me to catch the problem, breathless. I thought about the gorgeous weddings I’d attended. I thought about hearing the overture of Merrily We Roll Along played by a full orchestra for the first time. I thought about kissing a beautiful boy with cherry lips under a disco ball. I thought about the devastating end of The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai and when Parvati, Cirie, Amanda, and Natalie convinced Erik to give up individual immunity on Survivor . I thought about a recent meet cute and my first bite of the crab rangoon pizza at Fong’s in Des Moines, Iowa. I thought about my night at MetLife Stadium at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. I thought about seeing my dad cry when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. I thought about my mom caucusing in 2016 to support her politically active son and the year I won my family’s annual Christmas board game competition. I thought about the first time seeing my name on the masthead or in a byline in ELLE Magazine. I thought about my roommate Alex, who helped me through every doctor’s appointment and was slated to go with me to the surgery the following day. I thought about my other friends who offered to take care of me, too. I thought about every single person I loved.

And then, I had the surgery. It seemed to go well. I scheduled a follow-up.

Just a few days before The Tortured Poets Department dropped, I went into my doctor for the final A-OK. I had felt better, and I was convinced the surgery worked. He told me it did not. It would take a second surgery to fix. I was in the 4 percent.

I may not be performing in front of millions of fans, but Taylor’s ability to create music that’s relatable while speaking about her extraordinary situations is unmatched. To learn that even the world’s biggest pop star has powered through her own private battles made me feel more connected to her. Many of my colleagues and friends, each carrying on with their own silent struggles, have commented how this song has been their recent anthem, and it’s become a standout topic on social media.

To learn that even the world’s biggest pop star has powered through her own private battles made me feel more connected to her.”

We shuffle along to the beats of many drums. We are sometimes asked for more and we do it, all while haunted by paralyzing thoughts, yearning for a break and sleep. Internally we are miserable, but we peddle forward. It’s a side effect of the human condition. Of course, we need to take time for ourselves too, but I have gotten through my most challenging moments, terrifying times, and biggest heartbreaks by picking myself up and forcing myself to get back out there. And I’m sure I’m not alone.

I have to remind myself often that little Sam would be in awe of me right now. He would be astounded by all I’m accomplishing and the shows I’ve attended. Little Sam would love my unabashed queerness and my recent body confidence. But he wouldn’t be able to handle my very full plate: health complications, boy problems, and a sometimes challenging (but also rewarding) career. I’m sure little Taylor would feel the same way about big Taylor right now too.

So yes, I guess I can really do it with a literal broken heart. Taylor and I have that in common. I have my second surgery in late May. Hopefully, in June, Taylor’s song will remind me of a time when I was stronger than I had ever been before.

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Thousands Believe Covid Vaccines Harmed Them. Is Anyone Listening?

All vaccines have at least occasional side effects. But people who say they were injured by Covid vaccines believe their cases have been ignored.

Shaun Barcavage, 54, a nurse practitioner in New York City, said that ever since his first Covid shot, standing up has sent his heart racing. Credit... Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

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By Apoorva Mandavilli

Apoorva Mandavilli spent more than a year talking to dozens of experts in vaccine science, policymakers and people who said they had experienced serious side effects after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.

• Published May 3, 2024 Updated May 4, 2024

Within minutes of getting the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, Michelle Zimmerman felt pain racing from her left arm up to her ear and down to her fingertips. Within days, she was unbearably sensitive to light and struggled to remember simple facts.

She was 37, with a Ph.D. in neuroscience, and until then could ride her bicycle 20 miles, teach a dance class and give a lecture on artificial intelligence, all in the same day. Now, more than three years later, she lives with her parents. Eventually diagnosed with brain damage, she cannot work, drive or even stand for long periods of time.

“When I let myself think about the devastation of what this has done to my life, and how much I’ve lost, sometimes it feels even too hard to comprehend,” said Dr. Zimmerman, who believes her injury is due to a contaminated vaccine batch .

The Covid vaccines, a triumph of science and public health, are estimated to have prevented millions of hospitalizations and deaths . Yet even the best vaccines produce rare but serious side effects . And the Covid vaccines have been given to more than 270 million people in the United States, in nearly 677 million doses .

Dr. Zimmerman’s account is among the more harrowing, but thousands of Americans believe they suffered serious side effects following Covid vaccination. As of April, just over 13,000 vaccine-injury compensation claims have been filed with the federal government — but to little avail. Only 19 percent have been reviewed. Only 47 of those were deemed eligible for compensation, and only 12 have been paid out, at an average of about $3,600 .

Some scientists fear that patients with real injuries are being denied help and believe that more needs to be done to clarify the possible risks.

“At least long Covid has been somewhat recognized,” said Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist and vaccine expert at Yale University. But people who say they have post-vaccination injuries are “just completely ignored and dismissed and gaslighted,” she added.

In interviews and email exchanges conducted over several months, federal health officials insisted that serious side effects were extremely rare and that their surveillance efforts were more than sufficient to detect patterns of adverse events.

“Hundreds of millions of people in the United States have safely received Covid vaccines under the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history,” Jeff Nesbit, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in an emailed statement.

But in a recent interview, Dr. Janet Woodcock, a longtime leader of the Food and Drug Administration, who retired in February, said she believed that some recipients had experienced uncommon but “serious” and “life-changing” reactions beyond those described by federal agencies.

“I feel bad for those people,” said Dr. Woodcock, who became the F.D.A.’s acting commissioner in January 2021 as the vaccines were rolling out. “I believe their suffering should be acknowledged, that they have real problems, and they should be taken seriously.”

“I’m disappointed in myself,” she added. “I did a lot of things I feel very good about, but this is one of the few things I feel I just didn’t bring it home.”

Federal officials and independent scientists face a number of challenges in identifying potential vaccine side effects.

The nation’s fragmented health care system complicates detection of very rare side effects, a process that depends on an analysis of huge amounts of data. That’s a difficult task when a patient may be tested for Covid at Walgreens, get vaccinated at CVS, go to a local clinic for minor ailments and seek care at a hospital for serious conditions. Each place may rely on different health record systems.

There is no central repository of vaccine recipients, nor of medical records, and no easy to way to pool these data. Reports to the largest federal database of so-called adverse events can be made by anyone, about anything. It’s not even clear what officials should be looking for.

“I mean, you’re not going to find ‘brain fog’ in the medical record or claims data, and so then you’re not going to find” a signal that it may be linked to vaccination, Dr. Woodcock said. If such a side effect is not acknowledged by federal officials, “it’s because it doesn’t have a good research definition,” she added. “It isn’t, like, malevolence on their part.”

The government’s understaffed compensation fund has paid so little because it officially recognizes few side effects for Covid vaccines. And vaccine supporters, including federal officials, worry that even a whisper of possible side effects feeds into misinformation spread by a vitriolic anti-vaccine movement.

‘I’m Not Real’

Patients who believe they experienced serious side effects say they have received little support or acknowledgment.

Shaun Barcavage, 54, a nurse practitioner in New York City who has worked on clinical trials for H.I.V. and Covid, said that ever since his first Covid shot, merely standing up sent his heart racing — a symptom suggestive of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome , a neurological disorder that some studies have linked to both Covid and, much less often, vaccination .

He also experienced stinging pain in his eyes, mouth and genitals, which has abated, and tinnitus, which has not.

“I can’t get the government to help me,” Mr. Barcavage said of his fruitless pleas to federal agencies and elected representatives. “I am told I’m not real. I’m told I’m rare. I’m told I’m coincidence.”

Renee France, 49, a physical therapist in Seattle, developed Bell’s palsy — a form of facial paralysis, usually temporary — and a dramatic rash that neatly bisected her face. Bell’s palsy is a known side effect of other vaccines, and it has been linked to Covid vaccination in some studies.

But Dr. France said doctors were dismissive of any connection to the Covid vaccines. The rash, a bout of shingles, debilitated her for three weeks, so Dr. France reported it to federal databases twice.

“I thought for sure someone would reach out, but no one ever did,” she said.

Similar sentiments were echoed in interviews, conducted over more than a year, with 30 people who said they had been harmed by Covid shots. They described a variety of symptoms following vaccination, some neurological, some autoimmune, some cardiovascular.

All said they had been turned away by physicians, told their symptoms were psychosomatic, or labeled anti-vaccine by family and friends — despite the fact that they supported vaccines.

Even leading experts in vaccine science have run up against disbelief and ambivalence.

Dr. Gregory Poland, 68, editor in chief of the journal Vaccine, said that a loud whooshing sound in his ears had accompanied every moment since his first shot, but that his entreaties to colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to explore the phenomenon, tinnitus, had led nowhere.

He received polite responses to his many emails, but “I just don’t get any sense of movement,” he said.

“If they have done studies, those studies should be published,” Dr. Poland added. In despair that he might “never hear silence again,” he has sought solace in meditation and his religious faith.

Dr. Buddy Creech, 50, who led several Covid vaccine trials at Vanderbilt University, said his tinnitus and racing heart lasted about a week after each shot. “It’s very similar to what I experienced during acute Covid, back in March of 2020,” Dr. Creech said.

Research may ultimately find that most reported side effects are unrelated to the vaccine, he acknowledged. Many can be caused by Covid itself.

“Regardless, when our patients experience a side effect that may or may not be related to the vaccine, we owe it to them to investigate that as completely as we can,” Dr. Creech said.

Federal health officials say they do not believe that the Covid vaccines caused the illnesses described by patients like Mr. Barcavage, Dr. Zimmerman and Dr. France. The vaccines may cause transient reactions, such as swelling, fatigue and fever, according to the C.D.C., but the agency has documented only four serious but rare side effects .

Two are associated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is no longer available in the United States: Guillain-Barré syndrome , a known side effect of other vaccines , including the flu shot; and a blood-clotting disorder.

The C.D.C. also links mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna to heart inflammation, or myocarditis, especially in boys and young men. And the agency warns of anaphylaxis, or severe allergic reaction, which can occur after any vaccination.

Listening for Signals

Agency scientists are monitoring large databases containing medical information on millions of Americans for patterns that might suggest a hitherto unknown side effect of vaccination, said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the C.D.C.’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

“We toe the line by reporting the signals that we think are real signals and reporting them as soon as we identify them as signals,” he said. The agency’s systems for monitoring vaccine safety are “pretty close” to ideal, he said.

Those national surveillance efforts include the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). It is the largest database, but also the least reliable: Reports of side effects can be submitted by anyone and are not vetted, so they may be subject to bias or manipulation.

The system contains roughly one million reports regarding Covid vaccination, the vast majority for mild events, according to the C.D.C.

Federal researchers also comb through databases that combine electronic health records and insurance claims on tens of millions of Americans. The scientists monitor the data for 23 conditions that may occur following Covid vaccination. Officials remain alert to others that may pop up, Dr. Daskalakis said.

But there are gaps, some experts noted. The Covid shots administered at mass vaccination sites were not recorded in insurance claims databases, for example, and medical records in the United States are not centralized.

“It’s harder to see signals when you have so many people, and things are happening in different parts of the country, and they’re not all collected in the same system,” said Rebecca Chandler, a vaccine safety expert at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

An expert panel convened by the National Academies concluded in April that for the vast majority of side effects, there was not enough data to accept or reject a link.

Asked at a recent congressional hearing whether the nation’s vaccine-safety surveillance was sufficient, Dr. Peter Marks, director of the F.D.A.’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said, “I do believe we could do better.”

In some countries with centralized health care systems, officials have actively sought out reports of serious side effects of Covid vaccines and reached conclusions that U.S. health authorities have not.

In Hong Kong, the government analyzed centralized medical records of patients after vaccination and paid people to come forward with problems. The strategy identified “a lot of mild cases that other countries would not otherwise pick up,” said Ian Wong, a researcher at the University of Hong Kong who led the nation’s vaccine safety efforts.

That included the finding that in rare instances — about seven per million doses — the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine triggered a bout of shingles serious enough to require hospitalization.

The European Medicines Agency has linked the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to facial paralysis, tingling sensations and numbness. The E.M.A. also counts tinnitus as a side effect of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, although the American health agencies do not. There are more than 17,000 reports of tinnitus following Covid vaccination in VAERS.

Are the two linked? It’s not clear. As many as one in four adults has some form of tinnitus. Stress, anxiety, grief and aging can lead to the condition, as can infections like Covid itself and the flu.

There is no test or scan for tinnitus, and scientists cannot easily study it because the inner ear is tiny, delicate and encased in bone, said Dr. Konstantina Stankovic, an otolaryngologist at Stanford University.

Still, an analysis of health records from nearly 2.6 million people in the United States found that about 0.04 percent , or about 1,000, were diagnosed with tinnitus within three weeks of their first mRNA shot. In March, researchers in Australia published a study linking tinnitus and vertigo to the vaccines .

The F.D.A. is monitoring reports of tinnitus, but “at this time, the available evidence does not suggest a causal association with the Covid-19 vaccines,” the agency said in a statement.

Despite surveillance efforts, U.S. officials were not the first to identify a significant Covid vaccine side effect: myocarditis in young people receiving mRNA vaccines. It was Israeli authorities who first raised the alarm in April 2021. Officials in the United States said at the time that they had not seen a link.

On May 22, 2021, news broke that the C.D.C. was investigating a “relatively few” cases of myocarditis. By June 23, the number of myocarditis reports in VAERS had risen to more than 1,200 — a hint that it is important to tell doctors and patients what to look for.

Later analyses showed that the risk for myocarditis and pericarditis, a related condition, is highest after a second dose of an mRNA Covid vaccine in adolescent males aged 12 to 17 years.

In many people, vaccine-related myocarditis is transient. But some patients continue to experience pain, breathlessness and depression, and some show persistent changes on heart scans . The C.D.C. has said there were no confirmed deaths related to myocarditis, but in fact there have been several accounts of deaths reported post-vaccination .

Pervasive Misinformation

The rise of the anti-vaccine movement has made it difficult for scientists, in and out of government, to candidly address potential side effects, some experts said. Much of the narrative on the purported dangers of Covid vaccines is patently false, or at least exaggerated, cooked up by savvy anti-vaccine campaigns.

Questions about Covid vaccine safety are core to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign. Citing debunked theories about altered DNA, Florida’s surgeon general has called for a halt to Covid vaccination in the state.

“The sheer nature of misinformation, the scale of misinformation, is staggering, and anything will be twisted to make it seem like it’s not just a devastating side effect but proof of a massive cover-up,” said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, a vice dean at Johns Hopkins University.

Among the hundreds of millions of Americans who were immunized for Covid, some number would have had heart attacks or strokes anyway. Some women would have miscarried. How to distinguish those caused by the vaccine from those that are coincidences? The only way to resolve the question is intense research .

But the National Institutes of Health is conducting virtually no studies on Covid vaccine safety, several experts noted. William Murphy, a cancer researcher who worked at the N.I.H. for 12 years, has been prodding federal health officials to initiate these studies since 2021.

The officials each responded with “that very tired mantra: ‘But the virus is worse,’” Dr. Murphy recalled. “Yes, the virus is worse, but that doesn’t obviate doing research to make sure that there may be other options.”

A deeper understanding of possible side effects, and who is at risk for them, could have implications for the design of future vaccines, or may indicate that for some young and healthy people, the benefit of Covid shots may no longer outweigh the risks — as some European countries have determined.

Thorough research might also speed assistance to thousands of Americans who say they were injured.

The federal government has long run the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program , designed to compensate people who suffer injuries after vaccination. Established more than three decades ago, the program sets no limit on the amounts awarded to people found to have been harmed.

But Covid vaccines are not covered by that fund because Congress has not made them subject to the excise tax that pays for it. Some lawmakers have introduced bills to make the change.

Instead, claims regarding Covid vaccines go to the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program . Intended for public health emergencies, this program has narrow criteria to pay out and sets a limit of $50,000, with stringent standards of proof.

It requires applicants to prove within a year of the injury that it was “the direct result” of getting the Covid vaccine, based on “compelling, reliable, valid, medical, and scientific evidence.”

The program had only four staff members at the beginning of the pandemic, and now has 35 people evaluating claims. Still, it has reviewed only a fraction of the 13,000 claims filed, and has paid out only a dozen.

Dr. Ilka Warshawsky, a 58-year-old pathologist, said she lost all hearing in her right ear after a Covid booster shot. But hearing loss is not a recognized side effect of Covid vaccination.

The compensation program for Covid vaccines sets a high bar for proof, she said, yet offers little information on how to meet it: “These adverse events can be debilitating and life-altering, and so it’s very upsetting that they’re not acknowledged or addressed.”

Dr. Zimmerman, the neuroscientist, submitted her application in October 2021 and provided dozens of supporting medical documents. She received a claim number only in January 2023.

In adjudicating her claim for workers’ compensation, Washington State officials accepted that Covid vaccination caused her injury, but she has yet to get a decision from the federal program.

One of her therapists recently told her she might never be able to live independently again.

“That felt like a devastating blow,” Dr. Zimmerman said. “But I’m trying not to lose hope there will someday be a treatment and a way to cover it.”

Apoorva Mandavilli is a reporter focused on science and global health. She was a part of the team that won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for coverage of the pandemic. More about Apoorva Mandavilli

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Total eclipse of the heart: Lucky couple can get married on eclipse day April 8 in Akron

• Akron will offer a wedding for one lucky couple on April 8, the day of the solar eclipse.
• The winning couple will be chosen through an essay contest.
• The deadline to apply is March 5.

This won’t be a white wedding. 

In fact, it will be the opposite. 

Akron Municipal Court and the Cascade Locks Park Association are teaming up to offer a wedding for one lucky couple as the region goes pitch black on April 8, the day of the solar eclipse . 

The wedding will be at 1 p.m. at the Mustill Store Museum at 57 W. North St. in Akron, and will be followed by an eclipse party that will last through the moments of complete darkness until 4 p.m. 

The park association will distribute free eclipse glasses and host additional activities. 

A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and the earth. During this time, the sky will become very dark and the temperature may drop 10 to 15 degrees. 

Summit County will be in the “path of totality,” a 115-mile-wide path that will start in North America in Mexico and continue through Maine. The eclipse will begin at 1:59 p.m. as a partial eclipse, and will last until 4:29 p.m. The total eclipse will be visible in Summit County from 3:13 p.m. to 3:17 p.m., according to the Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau . 

Winning couple to be chosen through an essay contest

The winning couple will be chosen through an essay contest. The essay must be no more than 248 words, which is the number of earth years it takes Pluto to take one trip around the sun, and explain why the couple wants to get married on the eclipse day. 

Essays must be written in English and a panel will choose the winning couple based on the uniqueness of their story, creativity and enthusiasm for astronomy. 

The deadline to submit an entry is March 5. The chosen couple will be notified by March 15. 

Couples can enter the contest by filling out a form at https://akronmunicipalcourt.org/programs/out-of-this-world-couple-contest/ . The website also includes the contest rules. 

The wedding contest is open to all legal residents of the United States. There is no entry fee. 

Judge David Hamilton will officiate the wedding. 

Akron court often offers off-site weddings

The Akron court often hosts off-site weddings to mark special occasions and in conjunction with local businesses and organizations. Past venues have included Swenson’s and the Soap Box Derby.  

For information on other upcoming unique wedding opportunities in February and March, visit https://shorturl.at/CJPSV

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at [email protected] , 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.