• Question: why do we need our heart to help us live

    Asked by anon-186549 to Verity, Raquel, Danny, Catherine, Andy on 13 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Verity Hill

      Verity Hill answered on 13 Nov 2018:

      Because we are big animals, we have to have a system for getting oxygen to all of our cells so that they can respire and live. That is called the circulatory system, and it’s why we have blood.
      Blood carries oxygen to our cells, and it is moved around our body by our heart pumping it. The other part is our lungs, which bring oxygen into our body so that the blood can get it.
      If you don’t oxygenate your cells, they die! That’s why you die when your heart stops beating

    • Photo: Danny Ward

      Danny Ward answered on 13 Nov 2018:

      Our hearts pump blood around our bodies. The heart also takes the oxygen we breath in and puts in in the blood its pumping (while removing carbon dioxide). This oxygenated blood is now pumped around the body.
      .
      Why is this important? All the cells in our body require oxygen to survive. For a lot of their biochemical reactions they do to keep us alive, this requires oxygen. No heart means no oxygen in our cells and organs which means….nothing will work!

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