To better understand what heart disease is and what icauses heart disease, it helps to first know how the heart operates. The heart is like a pump. About the size of one’s fist, this muscular organ is located at the left center of the chest. The heart is divided into two parts, its left and right side. Having these two parts prevents high oxygen content blood from mixing with the low oxygen content blood or “blue blood.” This blue blood will return to the heart after being circulated through the body.
The heart also has some electrical wiring that allows its constant beating to continue. High electrical impulses start in the right atrium and will travel through the pathways leading to the ventricles, which prompt the signal for pumping. This system allows the heart to beat in a normal and coordinated rhythm which also keeps blood circulation ongoing. This constant exchange of blood keeps people alive.