What keeps the heart beating?
Your heart is a muscular pump that never stops beating. It has its own timing device that produces tiny electrical signals. These signals cause the heart muscle to contract rhythmically. This mechanism allows a heart to be transplanted from one body to another, because the heart will continue to beat when put into another person’s body. The heart can be stopped for a short time during heart surgery, and then restarted by giving it a small electric shock.
What is the pulse?
The pulse is the throbbing beat that can be felt on the inside of your wrist and in the side of your neck. This regular beat is caused by the expansion of arteries near the surface of the skin. It happens each time the left ventricle in the heart contracts and sends another spurt of blood along the arteries.
What is the heart rate?
Heart rate is the number of times that the heart contracts in a minute. You can measure this yourself by finding the pulse in your wrist, then gently holding your finger on it and counting the number of beats per minute. Don’t do this with your thumb because it has its own pulse!
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