The Anatomy of Your Heart

Your heart is the part of the body’s circulatory system that keeps oxygenated blood circulating throughout your body. Your heart is located in the center of your chest under your breastbone. It tilts left and is protected by your ribcage.

Your heart’s main job is to move blood throughout your body. It also controls the rhythm and speed of your heart rate and maintains your blood pressure.

Your heart has to work with other body systems to control your heart rate. The nervous system helps to control your heart rate. Signals are sent to your heat to beat slower during rest or faster when stressed. Hormones are sent out by your endocrine system telling your blood vessels to constrict or relax which affects your blood pressure. Your thyroid gland has hormones that also will tell your heart to beat faster or slower.

Home is where the Heart is

Think of your heart as your home. It has walls, rooms (chambers), doors (valves), plumbing (blood vessels) and electricity (electrical conduction system). 

Your heart has 4 chambers, two upper (atria) and two lower (ventricle) chambers. The chambers are hollow fibrous shells that are covered in muscle fibers. The wall of tissue that separates the right and left side of your heart is your septum.

Right Atrium

The right atrium takes in all the oxygen poor blood from your body through 2 veins, your superior vena cava, and your inferior vena cava. Your blood then passes through your tricuspid valve into your right ventricle.

Right Ventricle

Here your blood is pumped into your pulmonary valve into your pulmonary arteries and out to your lungs. In your lung your blood will receive the oxygen your body needs. Once your blood is replenished it then travels through your pulmonary veins back to your left atrium.

Left Atrium

Your left atrium receives the oxygen-rich blood and sends it through the mitral valve into your left ventricle.

Left Ventricle

This chamber is the last stop before pumping your blood through your aortic valve so that it can travel throughout your body and nourish it.

Heart Walls

The walls of your heart are muscle. This allows your heart to contract and beat. There are 3 layers to your heart walls.

• Endocardium: This is the inner layer
• Myocardium: The muscular middle layer
• Epicardium: The protective outer layer

Pericardium

The pericardium is the protective sac that protects your heart. It covers your entire heart and keeps it from rubbing against other organs. It also produces fluid to lubricate your heart. The epicardium is one layer of your heart.

Structure of heart chambers

There are 4 chambers and 4 valves that work together to allow blood into and out of your heart. They also work to separate the oxygenated blood from the oxygen-poor blood. The valves are like doors to the chambers, allowing blood to move through the heart. The structure of the heart allows blood to flow in the correct direction. Blood flows body>heart>lungs>heart>body in a healthy heart.

The chambers and valves are structured to keep this cycle going.

Heart Valves

• Your right atrium receives blood from your body. The “door” is called your tricuspid valve and allows blood to flow from your right atrium to your right ventricle.
• Your right ventricle is connected to your pulmonary artery by your pulmonary valve so that the blood can enter your lungs. Once the blood is reoxygenated it moves to your left atrium.
• Passage from your left atrium to your left ventricle is provided by your mitral valve (also called bicuspid valve).
• Your aortic valve allows your blood to move from your left ventricle to your aorta so that it can go provide the oxygen and nutrients your body needs to function.

This dance performed by your chambers and valves is what creates a heartbeat.

Blood Vessels

There are 3 types of blood vessels that your pumps blood through.

• Arteries – These carry oxygenated blood from your heart to your body with the exception of the lungs. The pulmonary arteries go to your lungs
• Veins – these carry blood back to your heart to get replenished with oxygen.
• Capillaries – These are small blood vessels that your body exchanges oxygenated and oxygen poor blood.

Your heart is nourished through a network of coronary arteries that run along your heart’s surface.

Electrical conduction system

Your heart’s conduction system controls the rhythm and pace of your heartbeat. The sinoatrial (SA) node sends the signal to your heart to make it beat. The atrioventricular (AV) node takes the signal from your upper chambers to your lower chambers.

Your heart has a network of electrical bundles and fibers work that help your heart function. These include:

• Left bundle branch: This bundle sends electric impulses to your left ventricle.
• Right bundle branch: This bundle sends electric impulses to your right ventricle.
• Bundle of His: This bundle sends impulses from your AV node to the Purkinje fibers.
• Purkinje fibers: These fibers tell your heart ventricles to contract and pump out blood.

Your heart affects every part of your body. That also means that diet, lifestyle, and your emotional well-being can affect your heart. Emotional and physical health are both important for maintaining a healthy heart.

Dr. Bobish

Dr. Bobish and her team focus on preventative care and are here to support you. Alpine Cardiology provides patients with education as well as compassionate care and treatment. We are committed to keeping you healthy and heart smart! Request an appointment at 989-448-7002