The heart, a muscular organ in humans and animals, pumps blood through vessels forming the circulatory system. This blood delivers oxygen and nutrients to tissues and removes waste like carbon dioxide. In humans, the heart, roughly fist-sized, resides in the chest's mediastinum between the lungs.
In 1628, William Harvey's publication of De Motu Cordis provided a complete description of the systemic circulation and the mechanical force of the heart, leading to a major shift in understanding.
In 1906, Sunao Tawara published his monograph, Das Reizleitungssystem des Säugetierherzens, revealing the role of the atrioventricular node in the heart's electrical conduction system.
In 1924, Willem Einthoven, the inventor of the electrocardiogram (ECG), was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for his invention.
In 1927, English physiologist Ernest Starling, known for his studies of the heart, died. His efforts, combined with Otto Frank, led to the Frank-Starling mechanism.
In 1944, German physiologist Otto Frank died. He's known for his detailed studies of the relationship between the heart and blood flow, which contributed to the Frank-Starling mechanism.
Since 1948, the ongoing Framingham Heart Study has been shedding light on the effects of various influences on the heart, including diet, exercise, and common medications such as aspirin.
In 1964, James Hardy performed the first heart transplant in a human using a chimpanzee heart; however, the patient died within 2 hours.
In 1967, Christiaan Barnard performed the first human-to-human heart transplantation at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, marking a milestone in cardiac surgery.
As of March 2000, more than 55,000 heart transplantations had been performed worldwide.
In 2008, cardiovascular diseases were identified as the most common cause of death globally, accounting for 30% of all human deaths, with coronary artery disease and stroke being major contributors.
In 2008, heart disease was recognized as a major cause of death, accounting for an average of 30% of all deaths worldwide, with rates varying in high-income countries.
In July 2014, OpenStax College published Anatomy & Physiology.
In 2020, Indigenous leaders delivered a message, made into a film, that humanity needs to shift from the mind to the heart to restore balance to the world.
On January 7, 2022, the first successful transplant of a heart from a genetically modified pig to a human, David Bennett, was performed in Baltimore by Bartley P. Griffith.
In March 8 2022, David Bennett, the first recipient of a genetically modified pig heart, died, one month and 30 days after the transplant.