Your Body: The Missing Manual

Chapter 7. Your Heart

If your body were a movie set and all your organs were actors, your heart would be the overexposed star with the hotshot agent.

After all, your body is full of critically important pieces. Damage your diaphragm and you can’t suck in a single breath. Remove your pancreas and you won’t digest a solitary cracker. Lose your liver and you’ll die within hours. Snip your spinal cord—well, you get the idea. Despite the obvious importance of all these body parts, they never get the media attention they deserve. Instead, they tick on quietly in the background, performing essential but unglamorous tasks, while the heart hogs the spotlight.

Given its star status, it’s surprising that a lot of what the average person knows about the heart is, well, a bit off. When most people think of the heart, they see clogged arteries and chest-clutching heart attacks. But the biological truth is a little subtler and a whole lot messier. First, your heart doesn’t run the show—it’s actually just one piece in a complex, cooperating system. Second, your heart isn’t always open about its problems. In fact, it might not warn you even when it’s badly faltering.

In this chapter, you’ll get up-close and intimate with your heart. You’ll see how it works and what makes it fail. You’ll walk through a scenario of a real-life heart attack, and learn to avoid the crucial mistakes that could cost you your life. Finally, you’ll review the touchstones of heart health and learn how to track your heart rate ...