Why are our hearts not in the middle of our chests?
369065
firstly the heart isnt in the middle as the answer above states, it is slightly offset.  the reason being is that there is no room in the centre, we have developed (through evolution) so that we need the lungs near the top, the oesophagus needs to be below the mouth and the heart is squeezed in where it can. more of  a design question than biology as other organs take precedence, the heart needs to be high in the torso to pump blood effectively, it needs to be close to the lungs as blood pressure to the lungs needs to be low to prevent haemmorhaging\n\nin other words its not in the middle because it wouldnt fit there
763050
Do you slouch or do you sit up straight? This could be nothing more than muscle spasms or pain from trapped wind. If you were suffering heart trouble you would be feeling the pain in the centre of your chest, in your neck or your arms. I don't think it could be your liver or you would be feeling 'out of sorts' too. Call NHS direct and have a word with them to see what they think. They will not offer a diagnosis but will advise you to visit your Doctor if they think it neccessary.
1003119
look at this 3D pic then read\n\nhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C003758/rotate.htm\n\nIn the human body, the heart is normally situated slightly to the left of the middle of the thorax, underneath the sternum (breastbone). The heart is usually felt to be on the left side because the left heart (the left part of the heart) is stronger (it pumps the blood out). The heart is enclosed by a sac known as the pericardium and is surrounded by the lungs.Betwen the pericardium and the heart there is a serous fluid to reduce friction during heart contractions. The apex is the blunt point at the base of the heart. A stethoscope can be placed directly over the apex and count the beats. In normal adults, its mass is 250-350 g (8-11 oz), but extremely diseased hearts can be up to 1000 g (2 lb) in mass. It consists of four chambers, the two upper atria (singular: atrium ) and the two lower ventricles. On the right is a picture of a fresh human heart which was just removed from a 64 year old British gentleman. The mass for a thin white male is usually 270-300 grams (9-11 ounces) with little fat.\n\nA septum divides the right atrium and ventricle from the left atrium and ventricle, preventing blood from passing between them. Valves between the atria and ventricles (atrioventricular valves) maintain coordinated unidirectional flow of blood from the atria to the ventricles. The ventricular systole consists of the contraction of the ventricles and flow of blood into the circulatory system. Again, once all the blood empties from the ventricles, the pulmonary and aortic semilunar valves close. Finally complete cardiac diastole involves relaxation of the atria and ventricles in preparation for refilling with circulating blood.\n\nThe function of the right side of the heart (see right heart) is to collect deoxygenated blood from the body and pump it into the lungs (pulmonary circulation)so that carbon dioxide can be dropped off and oxygen picked up. This happens through a process called diffusion. The left side (see left heart) collects oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body (systemic circulation). On both sides, the lower ventricles are thicker than the upper atria.\nOxygen-depleted or deoxygenated blood from the body enters the right atrium through two great veins, the superior vena cava which drains the upper part of the body and the inferior vena cava that drains the lower part which drains the portal cyrculation too full with nutrients to nourish the body. The blood then passes through the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle. The right ventricle pumps the deoxygenated blood to the lungs, through the pulmonary artery. In the lungs gaseous exchange takes places and the blood releases carbon dioxide into the lung cavity and picks up oxygen which is called external respiration. The oxygenated blood then flows through pulmonary veins to the left atrium. From the left atrium this newly oxygenated blood passes through the mitral valve (also called the bicuspid valve) to enter the left ventricle. The left ventricle then pumps the blood through the aorta to the entire body. Even the lungs take some of the blood supply from the aorta via bronchial arteries.\n\nThe left ventricle is much more muscular, which is 1.3 - 1.5 cm (.5-.6 in) thick, than the right, 0.3 - 0.5 cm ( .1-.2 in) thick, as it has to pump blood around the entire body, which involves exerting a considerable force to overcome the vascular pressure. As the right ventricle needs to pump blood only to the lungs, it requires less muscle.\n\nEven though the ventricles lie below the atria, the two vessels through which the blood exits the heart (the pulmonary artery and the aorta) leave the heart at its top side.\n\nThe contractile nature of the heart is due to the presence of cardiac muscle in its wall which can work continuously without fatigue. The heart wall is made of three distinct layers. The first is the outer epicardium which is composed of a layer of flattened epi
411195
i need some more details to answer. do you feel the tapping at the mid-point of your chest, a bit above the epicardium and spread over 1--2 sq inch area or is it something different? if the answer is yes, then you have felt the centre of a life force (praan) which controls our feelings like love, hate, kindness etc. and it is normal. try to feel it more and concentrate on it. if you wish to learn some more you go through the letter ' SEVEN NERVE CENTRES' in my group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gita_upanishadrahasya
678188
Well, our lungs expand. Our chest cavity isn't empty, so everything that's in there has to go somewhere. For some people, the chest swells. Other people's shoulders raise to add volume.\n\nOur actual chest would expand, but our rib cage stops that from happening. Remember how women used to overtighten their corset, and their bodies would swell in other areas? Same idea.
100708
the heart is a muscle, it doesn't have muscles in it
61450
this is sometimes seen on cardiac echo, and has no significance...it can make a heart look enlarged when someone does a chest xray...but its not the heart that is enlarged...it just has more fat around it than usual
975273
this can be a medical condition in which case the only way to fix it is surgery.\n\ngo and see a doctor and see what they think. it might just be a case of toning your chest.
220085
It goes back to Aristotle in the 400's BC ! He thought that the heart was the basis of emotions.  This notion kind of stuck around, as you have pointed out.
834896
Maybe you got food stuck in it or you didnt sallow it well it can hurt you in the chest!!!
327314
The heart is made of muscle. When it contracts, it 'squirts' the blood out and it runs through the veiks and arteries.\n\nDo this somewhere where you won't get into trouble for making a mess...put some water in a plastic bag, hold the top almost closed, squeeze the bag...what happens?...that's what the heart does.
1102206
Why do some people like hearts the others??\n\nSome people like heart questions. (?'s)\n\nAt first, I thought it might be the blood's reaction to heading to the kidneys. What a waste! After a little research I thought, maybe the blood vessels are increasing the pressure in addition to the heart muscle, more and more as the blood heads to the kidneys because the resistance in the kidney to being pressure cleansed needed additional pressure not needed in other passages of the arteries.\n\nBut, after further research, it appears Answerer 1 is right. UNLESS, the asker is asking what does it mean, what is the condition called when the blood pressure is more in the renal artery. Then the answer should start: When this condition occurs it is outside of healthy artery experience it is called:\n\n"Abnormal pressure in the blood capillaries can result in abnormal exchange of fluids to and from tissues which can result in conditions such as oedema" which I found at the source listed below:\n\nHAH!
280065
Put your hand on your heart. Did you place your hand on the left side of your chest? Many people do, but the heart is actually located almost in the center of the chest, between the lungs. It's tipped slightly so that a part of it sticks out and taps against the left side of the chest, which is what makes it seem as though it is located there.\n\n\nHold out your hand and make a fist. If you're a kid, your heart is about the same size as your fist, and if you're an adult, it's about the same size as two fists. \n\n\nYour heart beats about 100,000 times in one day and about 35 million times in a year. During an average lifetime, the human heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times. \n\n\nGive a tennis ball a good, hard squeeze. You're using about the same amount of force your heart uses to pump blood out to the body. Even at rest, the muscles of the heart work hard--twice as hard as the leg muscles of a person sprinting. \n\n\nFeel your pulse by placing two fingers at pulse points on your neck or wrists. The pulse you feel is blood stopping and starting as it moves through your arteries. As a kid, your resting pulse might range from 90 to 120 beats per minute. As an adult, your pulse rate slows to an average of 72 beats per minute. \n\n\nThe aorta, the largest artery in the body, is almost the diameter of a garden hose. Capillaries, on the other hand, are so small that it takes ten of them to equal the thickness of a human hair.\n\n\nYour body has about 5.6 liters (6 quarts) of blood. This 5.6 liters of blood circulates through the body three times every minute. In one day, the blood travels a total of 19,000 km (12,000 miles)--that's four times the distance across the US from coast to coast.\n\n\nThe heart pumps about 1 million barrels of blood during an average lifetime--that's enough to fill more than 3 super tankers. \n\n\nlub-DUB, lub-DUB, lub-DUB. Sound familiar? If you listen to your heart beat, you'll hear two sounds. These "lub" and "DUB" sounds are made by the heart valves as they open and close.
144833
They are the ribs.  Though technically only 7 of them go completely around to surround the heart and lungs.
225865
A large heart works less efficiently. You want to have a small heart. Your doctor will be able to explain further. Please, ask your doctor.
628527
you should see your doctor to rule out something serious. They will make sure it's not your heart.
814665
Contrary to what some say, your small heart and your regular-sized heart act the same way.  (cue the rim shot)\n\nWomen tend to present with more atypical symptoms than men.  Almost always is a sense of shortness of breath.  Other symptoms may be a profound sense of fatigue, chest tightness, jaw and/or neck discomfort, shoulder, arm, mid scapular discomfort.  Many people will say that they are not feeling true "pain."  There may also be pallor, a cold sweat, nausea and/or vomiting, and a sense of "impending doom."\n\nAnother consideration is your risk factors.  Early family history for heart disease (heart attacks, open hearts, heart caths only - not arrhythmias or valve problems), high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and smoking are the big five.  If you are a woman and under 40 then you would need to have nearly all of the risk factors to actually have heart disease/heart attack.  If you are at menopause or later in life a couple of factors would be enough to be concerned.  I hope this helps.