Heart of the Matter

​Do you think of valentines and cupids? Although tour heart doesn't actually make you fall in love, it does have an important job - it keeps blood moving through your body!

​Every cell in your body needs nutrients and oxygen to function. Cells also make wastes, such as carbon dioxide, that must be removed. Your cardiovascular system helps these things happen. Your blood delivers nutrients and oxygen to cells. It takes wastes away from them. Your heart helps blood move. It pumps blood through blood vessels to allow the cells in your body. Then the blood returns to the heart. This movement of blood is called circulation. Let's take a closer look at the heart and see how it keeps you ticking!

Let's take a closer look at the heart and see how it keeps you ticking!

​Your heart is a muscular organ about the size of your fist.

​When it expands, it fills with blood. When it contracts, or squeezes, it pushes blood out into blood vessels.

​Imagine squeezing a bottle of ketchup. When you press the sides in, the ketchup moves out. This is kind of like your heart pushing out blood.