I donated blood today so I figured I’d post something about the circulatory system… and what better to talk about than the superstar of the system; the heart!

The average human heart beats about 62 times per minute and pumps 1.3 gallons (5 Liters) per minute. That means that at 70 years old a human’s heart has beat 2.5 billion times and has pumped 48 million gallons. This is an incredibly important responsibility as the blood pumped by the heart transports hormones, nutrients, waste, and oxygen throughout the body. You can live for  4 to 6 weeks without food, a week (max) without water, but without the oxygen carried to your brain by blood you’ve got 6-8 minutes before permanent brain damage occurs and you’re dead (or a vegetable) in about 15 minutes.

So there you have it. Take care of your heart because it takes care of you!

Source: school, How Your Heart Works by Dr. Carl Bianco, M.D.

(via s-cientia)