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In this series, we will look at how the heart works, heart diseases, and therapies.
How the heart works
Your heart is a pump. It's a muscular organ about the size of your fist, located slightly left of center in your chest. Your heart is divided into the right and the left sides.
Heart valves
Four heart valves keep your blood moving the right way by opening only one way and only when they need to. To work properly, the valves must be formed properly, must open all the way, and must close tightly so there's no leakage. The four valves are:
Heartbeats
A beating heart squeezes (contracts) and relaxes in a continuous cycle.
Electrical system
Your heart's electrical wiring keeps it beating. Your heartbeat controls the continuous exchange of oxygen-rich blood with oxygen-poor blood. This exchange keeps you alive.
Coronary Artery