How does the heart beat?

Question

Doctors do not know. In fact: no one knows. What do you think?

I understand the physiology, but at the base of the occurrences, where does it come from?

That is, doctors don't understand the origin of the signals. Just as fear has an origin from exterior stimuli or interior (memory) sensation, the heart finds it origin... where?

Answer 1

Well, we know that there is an electrical impulse and if you take heart muscle and apply a small electric shock, it will contract.

What do you mean doctors dont know?

http://www.childrenheartinstitute.org/educate/heartwrk/elechhse.htm
"The Sinus Node generates an electric impulse and sends it through the heart causing it to beat. Located at the entrance to the Right Atrium, it is similar to a light switch at the entrance to your home except that the Sinus Node can switch itself on and off automatically."

EDIT:
If you want to get down to it, scientists don't understand the "origin" of any signal. We don't really know why electrons are in certain orbits, why that certain quanta of energy makes them jump orbits, why the gravitational constant is what it is. So what I "think" it might be is pretty irrelevant.

Answer 2

I think this question should be in the Health or Medical section, but here is an answer.

The autonomic nervous system partly controls the heart beat, and the nerve fibers in the heart can partly control it without help from the brain, though they don't do a good job at regulating themselves.

A nerve signal is started at the sino-atrial node. as this signal passes along the cardiac nerves, it causes the atria to contract. The signal reaches the junctional node and is then distributed out along the ventricular nerves. As it crosses these nerves, the venticals contract. Then the nerves repolorize and ready themselves to beat again. All of this happens in a few hundredths of a second, and is all disntinctly visible on an electrocardiogram, or ECG/EKG.

Answer 3

I must have a lesser understanding of this issue than you or the doctors you mention. I was led to believe the heart beats as a result of chemical and electrical impulses coming from nerves and originating in and influenced by the brain stem, spinal column, and brain, as well as different endocrine producing organs such as, say, the adrenal gland,- each having unique characteristics and effects. I understood it to be fed by the other aspects of circulatory system (blood vessels and the related organs) which carry nutrients and O2 to its cells as well as carry away waste products.

Is this not how it beats or is your question more meant to ask why the heart beats aside from the biology of it?

Answer 4

It's an electrical impluse sent via nerve through (I can't remember the names of the nerves now) a set of nerves to a "Natural pacemaker" which inturn sends an electrical impulse through certain sectons of the muscle tissue of the heart which causes the heart to contract.


Philosophy?

The heart contracts because man's too stuborn and stupid to die.

Answer 5

Heart has a free will away from yours to feel what it feels to be the important of all human organs . You cannot will it to stop functioning .

Answer 6

O ye who believe! respond to God, and the Messenger when he calls you that he may give you life, and know that God comes in between a man and his heart, and that He it is unto Whom you will be gathered.

Answer 7

not so simple explanation....its an autonomic nerve reaction to the bodies own electrical impulses

Answer 8

electrical impulses evolved over the eons....

Answer 9

by Qw33n's power

Answer 10

with a passion to survive...