Where is Your Heart Located?

Heart has forever been a favorite object to depict love for all poets. It used to express love and affection for someone. Heart was thought to be center of all emotions. But, in reality it is the brain that incites emotions in us.

Weighing just 250 to 325 grams in case of males and 225 to 300 grams in case of females, the heart is no larger than the size of one's fist. It may beat about 35 million times, or more, in a year. Every day the heart beats about 100,000 times. It pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood through the body per day.

These are just a few facts about the human heart. But, do you know where is your heart located in your body?

Contrary to common belief heart is not exactly towards the left side of the chest. It is located between the lungs in the middle of the chest. It is placed slightly towards the left of the sternum (breastbone). According to the anatomy of the human heart, there is a double layered membrane that covers the heart called the pericardium.

The outer layer of pericardium is attached to spinal column, diaphragm and other parts of the inner body through ligaments. It also surrounds the root of the major blood vessels attached to the heart. The heart muscles are covered with the inner layer of pericardium.

The heart is hollow from inside and divided into 4 chambers. The left and right atria make up the upper chambers and the left and right ventricles make up the lower chambers. Septum, a muscle wall separates the left and right atria, as well as ventricles. The strongest and the largest chamber of the human heart is the left ventricle.

In some rare cases, the heart is not locates where it normally is. It is present on the right side of the body, instead of left. This is a congenital defect and there are two types of dextrocardia. One is called the isolated dextrocardia (dextrocardia of embryonic arrest) and dextrocardia situs inversus.

In case of isolated dextrocardia, the heart is placed farther in the right. This placement deviates the heart more than normal from its actual, normal position. It is often associated with many heart ailments and abnormalities. Dextrocardia situs inversus is a condition that is actually the reversed appearance of the heart when present on the left side.

If along with the heart, other visceral organs are mirrored, it is called dextrocardia situs inversus totalis.

Heart is one of the strongest muscle of the body. The heart pumps oxygen-rich blood that is supplied to each and every living cell of the body through the circulatory system. The heart is fed with de-oxygenated or impure blood from the body. From the heart, impure blood is sent to the lungs for gas exchange.

The tiny air sacs in lungs exchange CO₂ from the blood, supplied from heart, and give away O₂. This oxygen rich blood is returned to the heart, from where it is pumped out into the body.

This was some information related to where is the heart located in the body. In rarest of the rare cases, the heart may be located on the right side of the chest. Dextrocardia occurs in approximately 1 in 12,000 people. Hope, the above facts have helped answer your question regarding its location in an easy and simple way.