Your heart is a specialised muscle that pumps blood around your body. Blood carries oxygen and nourishment to all parts of your body and carries waste products to several organs, notably your lungs and kidneys to eliminate. Your heart is divided into two pumps which work together. Blood coming back from the organs and tissues of your body enters the right side of your heart which then pumps it to your lungs. Your lungs remove waste carbon dioxide from the blood and recharge it with oxygen. The oxygen-rich blood returning from your lungs enters the left side of your heart, which then pumps it to all parts of your body, including your heart muscle itself. This process ensures that there is always enough oxygen and nourishment for your body to work efficiently.

t is a specialised muscle that pumps blood around your body. Blood carries oxygen and nourishment to all parts of your body and carries waste products to seve

Your heart is a specialised muscle that pumps blood around your body. Blood carries oxygen and nourishment to all parts of your body and carries waste products to several organs, notably your lungs and kidneys to eliminate.

All blood enters the right side of the heart through two veins: The superior vena cava (SVC) and the inferior vena cava (IVC) (see figure 3).The SVC collects blood from the upper half of the body. The IVC collects blood from the lower half of the body. Blood leaves the SVC and the IVC and enters the right atrium (RA) (3).When the RA contracts, the blood goes through the tricuspid valve (4) and into the right ventricle (RV) (5). When the RV contracts, blood is pumped through the pulmonary valve (6), into the pulmonary artery (PA) (7) and into the lungs where it picks up oxygen.