EP286: Heart Anatomy and Function

Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients. The heart is the most important organ as it pumps blood to supply oxygen to cells and remove carbon dioxide waste. Blood returns to the heart through veins and is pumped to the lungs by the right side of the heart. In the lungs, blood releases carbon dioxide and takes up oxygen. Oxygen-rich blood then enters the left side of the heart which pumps it to the body tissues. The heart has valves to ensure blood flows in one direction. Each heart cell can generate its own electrical signal which coordinates the heart's pumping action. The electrical system acts like a timing mechanism for the heart's pumping function. Takeaways: The heart's main function is to pump oxygenated blood to the tissues and remove deoxygenated blood from the tissues. This ensures cells receive oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. The heart has two pumps - the right heart pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs, and the left heart pumps oxygenated blood from the lungs to the body. The atria are pre-pumping chambers that push blood into the ventricles. The ventricles are the main pumping chambers. The heart has valves that ensure blood flows in one direction through the heart. The heart has an electrical system that acts as a timing mechanism, ensuring the heart chambers contract in the proper sequence. The cells in the heart have the ability to generate their own electrical impulses, which allows the heart to beat on its own. The right atrium initiates the heart's electrical signal which then spreads to the ventricles. The blood flow from the left ventricle is more fluid compared to the right ventricle. The heart's structure and function can be likened to an engine, with pistons, valves, and a timing system. Joining the Healthy Heart Network provides information to understand current heart health and risks, and steps to improve heart health. Australia, like the rest of the western world, has a heart problem. Over 9 million people around the world die from heart disease every year. Every 10 minutes, someone in Australia suffers a heart attack. And 21 lives are lost daily because of it. The devastating fact in all of this is…  Almost every one of those cases could have been prevented.  This podcast is for anyone who wants to improve their health literacy and gain information to help them make the best decisions about their risk of heart attack, their cholesterol, blood pressure, risk of diabetes, weight loss and general health. Join me on my personal mission journey to prevent Heart Attack on a global scale. If you like this podcast, I would be honoured by a 5-star review and appreciate if you let your friends and family know about this podcast; you may even save the life of someone you love! Are You at Risk of a Sudden Heart Attack? How Healthy is Your Heart? Really? Heart disease is the #1 killer in the Western World. In Australia, someone dies every 28 minutes from heart disease. That’s 51 people a day. In the US, someone has a heart attack every 40 SECONDS! Fortunately, many heart attacks are preventable. However, regular exercise and eating healthy are no guarantee you won’t succumb to this silent killer. 94% of Australians have at least One Risk Factor for heart disease.  59% of Australian