7 Facts About Your Heart
How much do you know about your heart?
Do you know what the heart does? How many times it beats per minute? Or, most importantly, how to properly look after this vital organ?
To help you learn more about the amazing role the heart plays in your circulatory system, we’ve got seven facts about the heart, including tips on how to keep it healthy.
7 facts about your heart
1. Your heart is a pump
The heart’s main job is to pump blood around the body to keep you alive.
The heart continuously pumps about eight pints of blood around your circulatory system every day. This blood delivers oxygen and nutrients all over your body and carries away carbon dioxide and waste products.
Your heart, as well as your body, needs a constant supply of blood. In fact, most heart attacks are caused when this supply stops due to an artery blockage within the heart. It’s important to be aware of the symptoms of a heart attack, so you’re able to get help as soon as possible.
2. Your heart is the size of your fist
Studies suggest that men and women actually have slightly different heart sizes - but just how big is the heart?
Your heart is roughly the size of your fist when clenched. In terms of weight, a female heart has a mass of around 245g, while a male heart comes in at 331g, on average. However, both male and female hearts are made up of four different chambers and three layers of muscle.
3. Lifestyle choices are important for heart health
One important fact about the heart is that simple lifestyle changes can impact its health. This includes how likely you are to develop heart disease.
For example, stopping smoking is vital for the overall health of your heart, and keeping active (unless advised otherwise by your GP) helps to keep your heart strong. You can also change what you eat for a healthy heart.
For more advice on keeping your heart healthy, check out our tips for how to lower your ‘heart age'.
4. Around 2.3 million people live with coronary heart disease
The British Heart Foundation report that around 2.3 million people in the UK are living with coronary heart disease (CHD).
CHD is caused by a build-up of waxy, fatty material called cholesterol within the walls of the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart. When the arteries become too narrow due to the build-up they cannot deliver enough oxygen-rich blood to your heart.
The NHS list the main symptoms of this as chest pain, shortness of breath, and pain in your neck, shoulders, jaw, or arms. If you’re worried about CHD, then it’s best to see a GP, who’ll be able to run appropriate diagnostic tests.
5. Your heart beats 100,000 times a day
Another fact about the heart is that it actually beats around 100,000 times a day, on average.
During the day, the resting heart rate of an adult is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. However, this can be affected by a range of facts, such as anxiety, depression, stress, and medication. That’s why, when it comes to heart health, it’s just as important to take care of your mental health, as it is to look after the physical.
To learn more about just one simple way to take care of your mind, read our article on how to practice mindfulness.
6. Laughter is good for heart health
While the likes of exercise, a healthy diet, and keeping stress levels low are good for heart health, there’s one thing that’s even easier than all of those to care for the heart – laughter, reports the British Heart Foundation.
Laughing helps reduce the amount of stress hormones in the body, such as cortisol and epinephrine. It can also naturally boost your immune system by helping to increase antibodies in your system, further protecting your body from infections.
7. The circulatory system is 60,000 miles long
In the main, your circulatory system is made up of four major parts - the heart, your arteries, veins, and capillaries.
One interesting circulatory system fact is that if you were to stretch out the combined length of all these parts, they would measure at around 60,000 miles long. That’s enough distance to fly from the British capital of London to Seoul in South Korea roughly 11 times.
When to see a doctor about heart health
There are times where it’s best to see your primary care team (for example, see a GP) about potential health issues relating to the heart. They’ll be able to diagnose the cause and advise appropriate treatment where needed.
If you’re experiencing an abnormal heart rhythm, meaning an irregular, slow, or fast heartbeat, then you should make an appointment with your primary care clinician. Symptoms of an abnormal heart rhythm include:
Dizziness.
Palpitations.
Breathlessness.
Losing consciousness.
There are certain risk factors that may mean you’re more likely to develop coronary heart disease. These are usually nothing to worry about, but if you’re at all concerned, then speak to your GP. These risk factors include:
Smoking.
High blood cholesterol.
Being overweight or obese.
Being physically inactive.
Hereditary and ethnic factors can increase your risk too. Read our article to find out more about if you may be at risk of heart disease.
How can Benenden Health help with heart health?
Worrying about heart health can leave you feeling stressed and anxious, especially when you’re unsure of what to do to properly look after your heart.
Our affordable private healthcare puts you, your health, and your needs first, From day one, you’ll be able to access a 24/7 GP Helpline, meaning you can book to speak to a medical professional about heart health over the phone at any time. You can also access video consultations any day, between the hours of 10am and 8pm.
At Benenden Health we can only provide treatment from our approved procedures list. Examples of excluded procedures include surgeries related to cancer, heart or brain conditions, joint replacements or anything not on our approved procedures list. A full list of procedures is available at
Alternatively, if you’re looking for low impact exercises to improve physical health for your heart or easy steps to take towards a healthy diet, then head over to our Be Healthy hub.
Medically reviewed by Dr Cheryl Lythgoe in February 2025.
