Skip to Main Content

HLTH 1575 EKG & Telemetry - Olson: Mythology & Media

Fun Facts

​​​​​​Single-module modular heart | This heart is made from a sing… | FlickrThe average heart is the size of a fist in an adult.

Your heart will beat about 115,000 times each day.

Your heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood every day.

The heart can continue beating even when it’s disconnected from the body.

Whales have the largest heart of any mammal.

Most heart attacks happen on a Monday. 

The beating sound of your heart is caused by the valves of the heart opening and closing.

If you were to stretch out your blood vessel system, it would extend over 60,000 miles.

Laughing is good for your heart. It reduces stress and gives a boost to your immune system.

By Diana Wells, for Healthline Magazine. 

Symbolism

Cultural Significance

A Victorian Valentine.

Many tribal societies would eat the heart of the enemy to acquire their strength (medieval French troubadours sang of husbands serving the wife with her lover’s heart, and Mike Tyson was still threatening to eat Lennox Lewis’s in 2000). Mexico City is founded where a magician’s heart sprouted into a prickly pear. Read more in an very fun Guardian article by Louisa Young. 

In Japanese culture, the heart is considered the seat of emotion and the source of feelings. This focus on the heart aligns with many cultural, philosophical, and artistic traditions in Japan that prioritize emotion, empathy, and the human experience. Read more at EJable. 

The Sacred Heart is one of the most common motifs in religious folk art created in Mexico. The idea is that the physical heart of Jesus is a symbol of his divine love for humanity. The Mexican sacred heart comes in various forms--with flames around it, with a crown, with a dagger through the center and sometimes with a crown of thorns--and all represent the same thing, Jesus' compassion for humanity. Read more at Zinnia Folk Arts. 

Geography

Fun Facts

  1. Your heart beats over 100,000 times per day.
  2. Your heart pumps about 1.5 gallons of blood every minute. Over the course of a day, that adds up to over 2,000 gallons.
  3. There are 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body. That's enough to go around the world twice.
  4. The average heartbeat of a woman is about 8 beats a minute faster than a man's heartbeat.
  5. An adult heart is about the size of two hands clasped together. A child's heart is about the size of a fist.
  6. Every cell in the human body gets blood from the heart except for the cornea.
  7. The right side of your heart pumps blood into your lungs. The left side of your heart pumps blood back through your body.
  8. The most number of heart attacks occur each year on Christmas Day. The day after Christmas and New Year's Day are close behind.
  9. More heart attacks happen on a Monday than any other day of the week.
  10. Heart disease is the greatest threat to your health. That's why it's important to be good to your heart by following a heart-healthy lifestyle.

Copyright 2018-2021 © Baldwin Publishing, Inc.