What does the heart do?
When blood flow ceases to the brain
The heart is a muscle about the size of a closed fist. The heart usually beats about 60 - 80 times per minute. With each beat, your heart pushes blood throughout your body. Blood doesn't flow on its own; it needs the heart to beat (contract) and push the blood through your blood vessels. Each time your heart beats, your heart muscle is contracting. You might not think of your heart as a muscle that gets a big workout. But it does. Think about what the heart does every day in a healthy adult. It pumps about 1,900 gallons (7,200 liters) of blood. It beats 100,000 times. And it gets only a fraction of a second to rest between each beat!
