February is National American Heart Month and is dedicated to raising awareness for heart health.
Physically, the heart is the first organ to form after conception and weighs approximately 11 ounces once developed. At rest, it normally beats 70 times a minute, pumping about three ounces of blood with each beat. The heart contains four chambers and four valves that direct oxygen-depleted blood to the lungs and directs the oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. During an average life span of 75 years, a heart pumps nearly one million barrels of blood through the body. A network of almost 60,000 miles of arteries, veins and capillaries carry blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
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