Ba-Dum-Bum Goes Your Heart! | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[music]. Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a. production of iHeart Radio. [music]. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm. Josh and there's Chuck [music] and. Jerry's here, too. And this is time for. your anatomy lesson. So, sit down and. shut up. >> Oh, man. Teachers of the days of old. >> For real. I've got my yard stick. >> Yeah. I've got my um necklace of garlic.

All the stuff the teachers used to have. >> You got your dunce cap. >> Yeah. I can't imagine that wearing that. Like how humiliating. >> Agreed. >> Speaking of humiliating in school, I. have a quick anecdote. When I was in. second grade, I went to a Catholic. school and there was a woman who taught. She was not a nun. She was a civilian. And she would look in your desk. You. know, you had those desks that like the. top would open, you kept your stuff.

inside. >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, she would go and look through. people's desks, kids desks, while we. were at recess, and then when we came. back in, she'd walk slowly up and down. the aisles, and then she would stop at. whoever's desk she found messiest. She'd. tell them to get up. She'd dump their. desk over onto the floor. >> and tell them to clean it up because it. wasn't organized. >> Wow. >> And then they had to do that. and then. she'd just start the lesson. >> Did you ever get the uh treatment? I.

>> I don't know if I did. It was so. traumatic I blocked it out, but I don't. remember ever getting it. But it was. like it was one of those things where. you just like it made the whole class. feel awful for that person. You know. what I mean? >> Yeah. [laughter] Oh my god, it's. terrible. >> So, suffice to say, I ended up in public. school starting in third grade. >> Oh, well, good [clears throat] for you. >> So, anyway, on to the heart, right? >> That's right. We're talking about the. the human heart. >> I have a question for you. >> Mhm. >> Chuck,

have you ever held a beating human heart. in your hand? [laughter]. >> I have not, but I got to say like. reading over this stuff and studying. this made me feel um. good in a way and bad in a way. Like. good that there's such a genius thing as. the human heart, >> but it kind of scared in a way that like. everything revolves around this little. fist-sized pump working really really.

hard for many many decades. >> Yeah. For a long time. I mean, what is. it like 40 million beats a year? >> Something like that. I mean, we got. those stats. >> Yeah. And I mean, like there's a there's. a lot of work. Well, yeah, I think we'll. cover it at some point, but there's a. lot of work that goes into your heart. beating, but I mean, man, it's it's. pretty vital. If the heart shuts down, the whole body goes, basically. >> Yeah. And is the heart uh is it the only. thing in your body that's like moving? Like I know blood moves and cells and.

things, but is it's the only thing that. has real movement, right? Well, I guess. your lungs move when you breathe in and. out. >> Yeah. But yeah, >> but that that's not even the same. >> It seems a little different. like moves. on its own, I guess, is is what you're. saying, right? >> Yeah. Just I don't know. The design. [clears throat]. seems like a design flaw. >> That it has to move. >> No, just like here's here's your whole. body. You got everything. Uh this does. this, this does that. And the thing that. operates at all is this little thing in. the middle that is supposed to beat with.

great regularity. >> Yeah. But it does. And it's amazing. And. we are going to explain today how it. works because I did not know how it. worked. And now that we've done this. research, I'm like, I understand how the. heart works. And it's actually not that. complicated really, even though it is. pretty much miraculous. >> No. And you know, at the end of the day, it is just a little pump. Uh, and like. any pump that you buy or use, like you. know, pumps work continuously, uh, if if.

they're plugged in or whatever, >> and they can break down. They can get. clogged up, and they can need repair. And the heart is really literally no. different. >> Yes. And it can, like you said, it does. need repair. In fact, heart disease um. is, I think, the leading cause of death. in the US. We talked about that in the. cancer episode, I think. >> Yeah, it still is. >> The stat I found is that 2500 Americans. die of heart disease each day. That's a. death every 34 seconds.

>> And it sounds much smaller, but. proportionately, I think these are on. par. In the UK, 170 people die a day of. heart disease. In Australia, it's 120. And in Canada, it's 288. So, that's that's a lot of people. Um, but weirdly, the death rate, well, I. don't want to say weirdly, the death. rate from um heart attacks has gone. down. And you're like, well, great, Americans are getting healthier. No, that's not true at all. It's just that.

we've gotten better at lifesaving. technology and techniques. Um, and so. we're able to save people from dying. from a heart attack more easily, but. there's more people that live with. chronic heart conditions after they're. saved from dying from their heart attack. than there used to be. >> Yeah, for sure. And you know, the one. piece of non-medical advice concerning. this I will give is uh you know, like. once you get into your 40s, I'm a big. believer in just knowing stuff and. preemptive measures.

>> Yeah. >> Uh I recommend people go in earlier than. earlier than you think you should for a. hard screening. Even if you if you're in. great shape, >> just to see what's going on in there, see how you're doing. Because there are. far too many stories of people that were. like, "I thought I was in great shape. and then I had the widowmaker and I. didn't know I had plaque blockage. Uh I. had a a friend I went to college with. that was like, I I feel funny. Uh I. think I should drive myself to the. emergency room and which was great, but.

like got there and died in the parking. lot of the hospital.". >> Um so you hear brutal stories like that. So, uh, that stuff can happen. And not. to scare anyone, but like, you know, get. some preemptive tests done just to kind. of see where you're at is my advice. >> I got tests done. Um, it wasn't. preemptive. I was actually scared to. death. My [laughter] dad has AIB. >> So, I've heard that if that runs in your. family, it's very likely that you're. going to develop Aphib. >> Yeah. >> Um, and I had started to get like. fluttering, like palpitations, like it.

felt like my heart was doing a. somersault once in a while. So, I was. like, man, I sent myself in. I got a. full workup from a cardiologist for two. weeks. Um, got the X-ray, had the. telemetry, all that stuff. >> And when I went in for my results, he. was like, there is nothing wrong with. your heart. He said, "I don't even see. anything coming down the pike to be. worried about." And I was I almost. started crying. I was so relieved. And I. went back to smoking after that. >> No, you didn't. Uh, the world the world.

breathed a sigh of relief. Oh, you did. go back to smoking. >> No, no, I said no, I didn't. >> Okay. I thought this one might have been. like a long time ago. But yes, uh. everybody on on planet Earth was. relieved to hear that. And uh that's. >> so sweet. I. >> I did the same thing and got my art. arterial score. And this was back when I. was in much much worse shape. Uh and uh. it was lower. And I I think I've even. said this before, the doctor, I'm not. sure if it made me feel better or not. He was like, "Frankly, I thought it. would be higher." [laughter].

Uh, but it wasn't zero, which isn't. great. But, uh, since then things are. going better. So, hopefully I've uh at. least staved off that that kind of thing. for a little while longer. >> That's great, man. It feels good, doesn't it? >> Yeah. I mean, we all want to live, right? >> Yeah, pretty much. I would say the vast. majority. >> All right, so let's talk about the heart. itself as a as a physical object. Uh, it. is hollow and it is cone-shaped. And I. think most people know this. It's a. muscle and it's between the lungs and.

behind the sternum. About twothirds of. which is on the left side of your body's. midline and about a third to the right. Uh with the apex, the little pointy end. pointing uh down and to the left. >> Down and to the left. >> I knew you were going to say that. >> Yeah. I've always heard you make a fist. >> and that's actually about the size of. your heart. I've heard your fist is. relatively or relative to your heart. size. >> Yeah. Anyway, you put it in the middle. of your chest and tilt it to your left.

and that's basically you're you're right. over your heart right then. >> Yeah. Uh that apex is about 5 in long, about 3 and 1/2 in wide. >> Uh 2 and 1/2 in from front to back, which makes it relatively fifth size. And a man's heart is generally bigger at. about 10.5 ounces compared to the. average uh woman's heart, which is about. 9 o. And like I said, that thing is a. small thing. It's 0.5% of your total. body weight. So, a lot is riding on that.

little fist-sized dude, >> for sure. Uh, it's got three layers. And. this, I mean, we're describing like one. of the most one of like the the top. organs in your body. >> One of the best. >> Yeah. Relatively small, relatively. simple. It's got only three layers. Uh, the first layer, the smooth inside. lining of the heart or the Billy D. Williams layer is called the. endocardium. >> That's right. >> The middle layer is called the. mitocardium or the jam Brady layer. And.

then there's a fluid fil sack that um. surrounds it. It's called the. paricardium or the jiggly poo. >> How long did you spend on that? >> It just came out of me, but it was it's. it's written down for sure. It's not off. the co. >> Okay, I got you. So, there are four. chambers to the heart. You have the. right atrium. um that is and what we're. describing here is literally the. function of the heart. So the right. atrium is the starting point and that's. when you have oxygen poor blood.

>> uh that your um body has used up that. arrives to the little recycling plant. >> Yep. You've got the right ventricle that's. below the atrium and that's where that. oxygen poor blood gets pumped out to. your lungs to go get reenriched. Right. Right. And then let's talk about the. left atrium, Chuck. >> That's right. That's where the lungs. deliver that uh good blood, that. oxygenated blood back to the heart. And. then bring us home, baby.

>> You got the left ventricle below the. left atrium. And that's where the oxygen. rich blood gets pumped back out to the. body for use. Right. The left ventricle. is far and away the biggest of them. because it's really got to work to pump. >> Yeah. So that left side handles the. oxygen rich blood, right side the oxygen. poor blood and it's just with the heart. and the lungs. It's just a little re. many recycling center in your body. >> Yeah. Another thing to remember is the. atria is incoming, the ventricles is.

outgoing. That's it. >> That's right. And uh these chambers work. by way of one-way valves at the exits. And that that's to keep blood from going. back the other way. So that chamber is. going to contract. The valve at that. exit is going to open up. And when it's. done contracting, that valve is going to. close because re-entry is not allowed. >> Yeah. It's like a backflow pretor on. your irrigation system. >> Yeah. >> So like I said, the left ventricle, it's. thicker. It's uh bigger, I think. Um and.

it's because it's responsible for. getting that blood out there to your. body, and it's got to overcome your. general blood pressure to really get it. moving. Right. >> That's right. So, I feel like we can. just kind of describe what happens with. the heartbeat, right? Because everybody. says it's like lob dub lubdub, right? >> Yeah. >> What I thought is that that's the sound. of the heart contracting. That's not the. case. The lub and the dub are the sounds. of those um one-way valves closing when.

one of the uh one of the sets of either. atria or ventricles is opening and. closing. Right. Yeah. So, I I um took. some peyote last night to have a vision. quest to figure out how to best describe. this. And I'd like to share what I came. up with. >> Yeah, let's hear it. >> So, this talking coyote explained it to. me as. >> wonderful. >> You take two fists, right? >> You put one on top of the other. >> Okay. >> Okay. You open the top and what's going. on? The blood, whether it's oxygen rich.

or oxygen poor, is flowing into the. atria. Okay. >> That's in dastol. That's that relaxed. state. If you look at your bottom fist, it's still a fist. So, what's happening. is that your ventricles are contracting. So, while the blood's flowing into the. atria, the ventricles are pushing oxygen. poor and oxygenrich blood out either to. the lungs or the rest of the body. >> Now, do the opposite. Your top makes a. fist and your bottom opens up. And what. just happened is those atria pumped that.

blood into your ventricles. And then do. it again. And your ventricles are now. pumping that blood out. You got loved. up, loved up, loved up. It's really fun. to do a bunch. And that's what your. heart does. >> Yeah. A bunch. Uh we mentioned the. stats. It's about 72 times a minute is. the average heartbeat uh at rest, obviously. And throughout a day, that. means about 100,000 beats uh in a year. That's about 38 million beats. And if.

you are lucky enough to reach the uh. youngest age of 70, uh on average we're. talking about two and a half million. beats laid down by the the master DJ. there in the center of your chest. >> That is really impressive, man. >> Yeah. >> Did you know also those beats are not. steady over your lifetime that it. actually um speeds up and then slows. down uh the younger you are? >> I did. Uh it looks like it maxes out at. 3 months old at 140. That's after about.

130 beats per minute as a newborn. Then. it. >> goes up to the 140. Then at 6 months. settles back to 130. >> and your body goes, "Oh, am I newborn. again?" And then from years 1 to 12, it. goes from 120 to 115. Steadies out at. 100 for years three, four, I'm sorry. Yeah. Three years, four years, and then. six years. Did we skip five years? >> Yeah, it doesn't matter. >> Okay. [laughter] Then at year eight, when you're a little 8-year-old, it. drops down to 90.

>> Then at 12, when you're truly don't care. about what's going on in the world, it's. all the way down to 85. And you can. tell. >> Uh and then in your adult years, uh. about 60 to 100 beats per minute, uh. depending on, you know, what's going on. >> Yeah. And I said, why? And it turns out. it's because the little hearts of babies. and younger kids proportionate to their. body are smaller than the adult heart is. to an adult body. Yeah. And. >> so they have to pump more often to get. that that blood out as they're growing.

And they also have a higher metabolism, too. >> Well, that means a baby fist is like. proportionally like the heart is smaller. than a baby's fist, I guess, then, right? >> Yes. >> Amazing. All right. Should we take a. break? >> Yes. >> All right. We'll be right back. >> Learn. stuff you should know. All.

right, everyone. We're back and let's. talk about blood flow a little bit. because your circulatory system is a big. part. You know, of course, we said the. heart is the pump, but it's got to be. connected to stuff to take all the blood. to every place in your body that needs. it. Uh, and there are I mean, this all. smacks so much of like elementary school.

um biology and stuff, but and anatomy, but I kind of love it. >> They do. [clears throat]. >> The three kinds of blood vessels, of. course, are the veins, arteries, and. capillaries. And the veins carry that um. oxygen uh necessary blood back to the. heart, like that depleted blood. And the. arteries carry that oxygen rich blood to. the rest of the body. Veins go in, arteries go out. >> Yeah. And then you're like, well, what. the heck do the capillaries do? They. carry blood between the veins and the. arteries. And I I guess at some points.

some of the the veins are like, "Hey, I. need some more nutrients. Give it to me. from the arteries or something like. that." I guess it's just for homeostasis. purposes. That's the best I could come. up with. >> I have a question. Like I know the. arteries are the big fellas and that. their walls like have muscle tissue. because they actually like pump. >> Yeah. >> Uh are capillaries do they not have. little muscle systems? Does the blood. just kind of running through them. because of the force of entering and.

exiting? >> That's my understanding. Veins use valve systems from what I saw. rather than muscle tissue. >> All right. I love it. >> Yeah, it is. The the biggest I saw that. a um a artery is is about as wide as a. nickel is round. 2 centimeters. That's a. big old artery. >> 2 cm. Okay. Yeah, I got you. >> Yeah. Imagine holding a nickel in your. palm. >> It's been a while. >> Now imagine that. Uh it really has. Now.

imagine that is an artery just coming at. you like a cross-section of an artery. >> I got you. Pretty intimidating. >> Yeah, [laughter]. it is. So [snorts] that blood as we. mentioned earlier comes in through the. right side through two veins. The uh. superior veica. Oh man, elementary. school city. Uh and the inferior. venneava. And that uh the aorta is that. main artery of the body that gets all. the blood that the heart is pumped out. and then distributed distributes it. through the various u I guess vein.

channels. >> Were you learning about the superior and. inferior venneava in in elementary. school? cuz I definitely was not. >> I felt like I did, but maybe not now. that you mention it. >> I mean, we we didn't get anywhere near. there. I think we learned that we have a. heart and that's as far as we got. >> I also ran up through seventh grade in. elementary school because we didn't have. middle school. So, maybe that's the. differentiator. >> You didn't have middle school. So,

eighth grade began um high school. Wow. >> Yeah. after right after I left uh they. built a middle school in our district. for the first time and uh so so my story. was always that in um 8th 9th and 10th. grade I was the youngest person in high. school because they kept sending that. next grade to middle school. which at the time now it's like who. cares but at the time you just wanted to. be older than somebody. >> no I know. >> in this school so three years straight.

it was like uh now they're taking the. eighth graders now they're taking the. ninth graders That's the pits, man. >> Yeah. So, yeah, I think by seventh. grade, we were learning about this. stuff. >> I I don't remember that at all, but. okay. I believe you. I'm saying I don't. I don't remember. I think I just learned. about the superior and inferior vennea. >> in college. >> No, we're researching this. >> Okay. [laughter]. >> Okay. So, these are your blood vessels. and they're moving a lot of blood. >> How much. >> appropriately? Get this. The heart pumps.

an average about 2.4 4 ounces of blood. every time it beats. It's a pretty. decent amount of blood. I said, "Well, how how much blood is it?" 70. milliliters. And I was like, I don't. understand how much that is at all. Uh, in airplane mini liquor bottles, it's. about one and a half of those in blood. every time your heart beats. >> Yeah. I I would like to tell people that. when Josh takes an article and uh. changes like parts of it to then send to.

me. There's always fun little things. like that and there's always lots of. very funny inappropriate cursing. I. don't think I've ever mentioned how much. I enjoy that by the way. >> Oh, thanks man. I enjoy yours as well. >> Yeah, they're only for my eyes. Uh but. it's always funny when I come across it. >> Thanks. It means a lot. >> Yeah, maybe one day we'll just read it. out loud and see what people think. I. [laughter] don't know about that. >> Uh, all right. So, one and a half. airplane bottles, airplane liquor. bottles worth. Uh, that at 72 beats a. minute, that's about 1.3 gallons or 5.

lers of blood pumped per minute. >> And about 1,900 gallons or 7200 lers of. blood pumped per day, man. And that is a. tiny little 10oz pump doing all that. work. >> Yeah. That's 14,400 mini airline liquor. bottles per day. [laughter]. >> Oh, wow. Is it really? It actually like. that means more to me than 1900 gallons. That's a lot. Not because I'm like, "Oh, I love drinking, right?" Like that is a. lot of blood that just moves through. your body every day. And bear in mind,

everyone, you don't have 14,400. uh mini liquor bottles worth of blood in. you. It just gets circulated that often. >> Right. Exactly. Good point. >> Yeah. Uh that was for the. three-year-olds. I think everybody else. already knew that and it kind of went. without saying. So, how does this thing. beat? Uh, I think most people probably. know in a very basic way that it's. electrical impulses that cause the heart. to beat. >> Mhm. >> Um, but more specifically, it's a group. of cells uh that have the um really.

uncanny ability to generate that. activity by themselves. It's. >> really super cool. You know how like. when you put salt on a uh a dead frog's. legs and they like twitch? >> I didn't know that actually. Oh, you. didn't. It's like a It's like a You You. should go online and check it out. It's. very weird. But what's happening is you. just added an electrolyte, which is an. essentially an electricitybearing. element. >> onto a muscle, and muscle tissue.

responds to electricity bearing. elements. And with the heart. specifically, you've got what are called. pacemaker cells. >> um that are located in what are called. nodes where basically they take in those. electrolytes that you hear about with. hydration and all that. sodium, potassium, calcium, chlorine, magnesium. And these pacemaker cells in the nodes. are able to take those elements and. strip them into charged ions which they. shoot at the heart. And this electrical. activity just cascades over the heart.

and that causes the muscle tissue to. contract and then release once the. electrical impulse is passed over it. >> That is incredible. Uh and you're also. saying that um this whole electrolyte. thing isn't a big scam. We need those. >> It really isn't because if you're just. drinking water and it's just water and. you're hydrating like that, it I mean it. helps. You actually do need water. plenty, but um there comes a point in. time where you're actually diluting your. blood and you need those electrolytes to.

balance that out. So, I think they we're. probably being oversold electrolytes. because I don't remember having any. problems with it until 2022, right, >> when [laughter] they started advertising. it. But you do need electrolytes for. sure. >> Yeah. You know, one of I've mentioned. that um survival show alone that I watch. and you're allowed to bring like a. certain amount of things with you that. of your own choosing that that are. obviously approved. And occasionally, I. feel like once every two seasons or so,

somebody brings a block of salt. >> Oh, yeah. A whole block. Gez. >> Yep. Brings a block of salt and uh for. two reasons. one to help provide. electrolytes when they're like obviously. getting like super dehydrated out there. in the wild, but uh the other kind of. obvious more fun reason is to to give a. little bit of flavor to some of that. garbage that they have to eat. >> Yeah, I'll bet. >> it's it's not a bad idea though, I don't. think. Like the salt block. >> No, not at all. I know deer like to lick. salt block. So, I was wondering if. anyone ever brought it to like attract a.

deer that they killed. >> Nate. I have not seen that. I think the. salt is too valuable to like chunk it. off and just leave out there for anyone. to have. >> Gotcha. >> Yeah, that that'd be my guess. >> But yeah, so they're they're hydrating. with electrolytes then, at least with. sodium. >> Totally. >> So, um what's also nuts about this is. that this electrical um cascade uh is. produced more than once per second. I. think your heart beats in less than a. second every time. It's like 08 seconds.

total where the whole thing goes. through. It's jam. >> Yeah. I mean, if it's 72 times a minute, even Josh math like figures can figure. that out. >> That had not dawned on me until this. now. >> Uh, yeah. So, that electrical impulse. travels to the right and left atria. first and they contract together and. that's what takes that 004 seconds. >> and then there's a little bit of a delay. because those ventricles have to fill. back up with the blood with the good. stuff. >> and then that electrical impulse then. goes to the right and left ventricle.

they contract at the same time and. that's it. If you if you have issues. with this um. electrical impulse like getting it right. and timing it right um then you're going. to need a pacemaker. We we'll talk about. like artificial pacemaker soon but like. your body has like. >> that's it's a natural pacemaker. basically like any of that electrical. tissue in the heart can be a pacemaker, right? Right. But the one you really. want working is the the the main one.

which is the uh sinoatrial node and that. is the that's the real pacemaker. And if. that one doesn't work quite right then. other ones can step up and do the job. >> Yeah. But it's not ideal. You want your. your sinoatrial node functioning. correctly like you said. But in lie of. it there's other ones like the uh. arterio ventricular node which usually. receives um electrical impulses from the. cyanoatrial node. But if if the SA is. not able to do it, the A can step up and.

be like I I'll see what I can do. The. pulse though is weaker and it's um not. uh as as rhythmic I guess as when it's. working properly. It's but it you're. happy that the atrio ventricular node is. doing its thing because if not you drop. dead. >> Yeah, that's right. Uh but that that's. what can produce a arrhythmia, right? Which is an irregular heartbeat. >> Yes, that's one of the things that can. do it for sure. If your sinoatrial node. is not working, yes, you have an.

irregular heartbeat for sure. >> What did your doctor say since you were. in like that your heart was in great. shape what the heart flutters were? Because I used to get those occasionally. too. He said that it was nothing. He said it. was literally nothing. That just happens. sometimes and it doesn't mean anything. He said it doesn't have anything to do. with anything. It just happens. It's not. a sign of something. >> that's wrong with you or something. coming down the road. He said it's just. nothing. >> And then he farted and put a cigarette. out and kicked you out the front door. >> That's right. Took a shot of scotch.

first. >> All right. Well, that's good to know. because that has happened to me. occasionally, too. And it's a little. disconcerting when you have like your. heart will like race for a couple of. seconds. You're like, "What the what the. heck was that?". >> Yeah. I mean, it definitely is very. unnerving. So, I'm I'm glad it drove me. to the to go get a work up because it. was nice to hear. I'm all right. >> That's good. Uh, so there, you know, those pacemaker cells are the one that. that do the money work. Uh, but other. nerves can change the rate that those. cells fire, >> uh, how maybe how strong that heart is.

going to be contracting. Uh, and those. are all part of the autonomic nervous. system. >> Yeah. our old friend fight or flight um. is essentially what the reason why your. heart starts pounding when you're in. fight orflight mode is because your. sympathetic nervous system has talked to. your sinoatrial node and said, "Hey man, step it up. We want more heartbeats and. we want stronger contractions than ever. before because this guy's about to have. to run because there's a jungle cat. coming. Don't ask me how because I. realize we're in Georgia, but there's a.

jungle cat coming.". >> Totally. uh and those um all that. activity is going to produce an. electrical wave and when you go to get a. EKG an electroc cardiogram that is what. it's measuring like those are the. electrical waves that the EKG can spit. out on that piece of paper. >> Mhm. Yes. The first wave is called a. Pwave and like this is this is when. you're looking at a EKG and it goes like. the lines just go up and down really. quick. Yeah. >> There's like it's not just chaotic like. it looks to me. >> Like one of those is called the Pwave.

This is when the electrical activity. spreads over the atria and they. contract. The QRS complex is where the. electrical activity spreads over the. ventricles. And then when the ventricles. relax, that produces on the EKG uh. T-wave. >> That's right. And if your doctor ever. goes to look at your EKG and then goes, "Huh?" and then turns it upside down and. then looks at it. >> Then [laughter]. you should fart and put out your. cigarette and run out of his office.

Yeah, maybe get a second opinion. >> All right, should we take a break? >> Yeah, let's let everybody hear us try to. sell them something. >> All right, we'll be [laughter] right. back. >> Learn [music]. with Joshua. off. You should know. [music].

[music]. Okay, everybody, we're back. And um as. miraculous and amazing and actually kind. of hashtagbasic as the heart is, it can. get messed up as you know. And one of. the chief ways that it gets messed up is. from us messing it up with the stuff. that we eat because cholesterol, fat, lipids even. >> can get caught up in your arteries. And.

when they get caught up, they kind of. hang in there and they build up what's. called plaque. And then the the um I. guess condition where your arteries are. clogged with plaque is called. arterioclerosis. and that is an early part of heart. disease. >> Yeah. So if you have a partial blockage. in a coronary artery uh you're just. obviously not going to get enough supply. of blood. >> Uh it's you know usually this is. something you might notice when you. exert yourself. So uh you might feel.

like a chest pain or something like. that. That's because you have a literal. lack of blood and oxygen to that part of. the heart muscle right there and that's. called anggina and it's no good. >> No, it's it isn't. Um I don't think I've. ever heard the words chest pain without. thinking of that guy on the life alert. ad going I'm having chest pain. >> Remember him? >> Classic. >> He was second in in um fame only to the. lady who came after him who said I've. fallen and I can't get up. Same ad. >> What if those were your grandparents?

[laughter] like uh as the actors were. >> Yeah. Yeah. Like they happened to be a. married couple and they booked them. together because it was just easy and. those were your literal grandparents. I. >> I'd probably tell a lot of people. >> That'd be so much fun. Do it again, Grandma. [laughter]. >> Or she does that and she we're like, "Oh, you're the funniest." And she's. like really fallen and can't get up. >> Yeah. No. Really help. >> Yeah. >> That'd be a great outgoing um voicemail. message. Yeah. >> If your grandma If that was your. grandma. >> Totally. Um Josh can't come to the phone.

now because he's fallen and he can't get. up. [laughter]. >> So. >> uh angina is where we left off, I think. >> Yes. Um so you've got angina which can. actually get worse the more angina you. have. You can have unstable angina. Um. when the the coronary arteries. completely blocked. I I'm guessing any. one of them can really do this to you. You're getting starved of blood and. oxygen in your heart muscle. It needs. both of those things because the heart. doesn't just pump blood, it uses blood, too, right? So, it'll take a little from.

me as well. You got more angina, you can. actually have a heart attack from that. And I know you found um some good. information about the difference between. like heart attack and cardiac arrest and. all that stuff. And I say lay it on. everybody, Chuck. >> Yeah. You know, I I I knew there was a. difference because I think a lot of. people use heart attack, >> um, heart failure and cardiac arrest. kind of interchangeably, but they're but. they're not the same thing. So, what. what is it again? >> Oh, okay. I'll lay down. So, a heart.

attack is a circulation problem because. blood flow to part of the heart is. blocked. >> You're having a heart attack. Cardiac. arrest. I thought that was the exact. same. That's an electrical malfunction. where the heart just suddenly stops. beating. And then heart failure is actually a. chronic condition where the heart muscle. is just too weak or it's too stiff from. things like heart attacks. It stiffens, almost scars after those to effectively. pump the blood. So there you have it. You'll never have to have anybody. explain it to you again.

>> Yeah. And if I'm not mistaken, cardiac. arrest is the one that's more dangerous. Like if you see a TV show or movie or. god forbid if this has happened to. someone in your life. >> and someone's like, "I'm having a heart. attack." and like they die a couple of. minutes later. I think that's usually. cardiac arrest. Whereas a heart attack. is like, "Hey, I'm having a heart attack. and like I need to get into the car now. and drive to the hospital and that can. happen.". >> Okay, gotcha. So, so you're saying. cardiac arrest is deadlier than a heart. attack?

>> Yeah. >> Because people are misusing terms, >> I think. So, because I think cardiac. arrest is the one that like where you. can be dead minutes later. Well, one of. the best things you can do in your. entire life is to correct someone who's. dying, right, [laughter]. >> of heart attack or cardiac arrest as. they're going down. >> Actually, [laughter]. oh boy. Uh, so let's move on to atrial. fibrillation. This one is a big one to. me because, like I said, my dad has it. and I remember hearing he had um it's.

called AIB for those of us in the know. I was like, "Oh my god, that sounds. awful." Apparently, it's not. There's. not actually a problem with aphib in and. of itself. It's just a a type of. arrhythmia where the heart just doesn't. follow. It beats to uh it moves to the. beat of its own drum, not the standard. one. And there's nothing wrong with. having aphib, but aphib can lay the. groundwork for all sorts of other heart. problems. That's the problem with aphib. >> Yeah. Like you may not show any. symptoms. Uh they may or you may get.

symptoms later. you may not know you. have aphib at all for like a very very. long time. Uh and like you said, it's. you know it will increase the risk of. maybe heart failure or stroke. Um it. because it's, you know, basically. because it's marching to the beat of its. own drummer, it's circulating your blood. in a way that's different. So uh if it's. so different that thrombosis or like. blood clotting can occur, >> uh that that could happen and a blood. clot can break off.

>> and block like a brain artery. >> Mh. And that's where a stroke comes. from. >> Yeah, that's nay good for sure. >> Um, so yeah, you want to steer clear of. aphib. You want to screen for it, too, especially if it's in your family. >> Yeah. >> And then there's congenital heart. disease, which simply means that you. have a heart condition that you were. born with. I think the most common, it's. the most common type of birth defect. Um, and I think one of the most common. types of congenital heart disease is, uh, holes in the heart, septile defects.

>> Mhm. Uh, I didn't see if they actually. are the most common, but that's the one. I've always heard the most. So, I guess. anecdotally speaking, it's the most. common. >> Yeah. So, if you have a brand new baby. and they say that they have were born. with congenital heart disease, they they. need to change that name up a little bit. or hopefully they break it to you in a. different way. >> Sure. >> Than just like laying that down because. it can be um no big deal at all. Sometimes there's just no treatment. required at all. >> Right. If you do have a heart condition,

uh especially if your heart's just not. quite beating in a rhythm that's that's. making it work as efficiently as. possible, there's all sorts of stuff you. can do. There's medications. Well, there's medications. There's also. pacemakers. >> Mhm. >> Which have really come a long way. Um I. think the first pacemaker implant was in. 1958. And now it's I don't want to say. routine, but it's they they save a lot. of lives these days. >> It's pretty routine, I think. >> Yeah. Like I know several people in my.

life that have pacemakers. Uh they are. literal electronic devices. >> that uh keep your heart beating like it. should or prevent it rather I guess from. beating abnormally. And it's a it's a. battery. It's got some computer. circuitry. >> It's a a little piece of metal and they. implant that inside of your body in the. upper chest like kind of near your. shoulder. >> Yeah. And then the wires go through your. vein, I think from your leg into your. heart. And there's different ones.

depending on what they're um working on. There's single chamber where for some. reason it's specific to parts of the. heart. So like a single chamber um. pacemaker uh works helps the right. ventricle do its thing. So it's pumping. blood out to the lungs, but like you. wouldn't put that in like the left. ventricle for some reason. I I could not. find why it's so specific. >> Yeah. And this is the point where we. need to just take our hats off and. salute humanity.

>> Sure. >> Uh in this case, a guy named Wilson. Greatbotch, who is basically recognized. as the as the dude who invented the. first pacemaker. And. >> and you know, I'm sure Wilson had a a a. team of great people that are always. undersung. So, uh, it's amazing that. people are like, "Hey, if if your heart. doesn't beat right, maybe we can put a. little thing in your body that's that's. like that lives inside of you. successfully.". >> Yeah. I mean, those So, it just. basically if your say your um.

cyanoatrial node isn't just isn't. producing electricity like it's supposed. to, this thing does. It goes, "Oh, here, I'll stand in for you." So, yeah, it's. pretty pretty amazing stuff for sure. Um, and it depends on what your heart's. doing. um that the the type of um. pacemaker is inserted, but we won't. necessarily get into that. If you need a. pacemaker, I'm pretty sure your doctor. can tell you everything you need. You. don't need it from us. >> Yeah, that's a good point. [clears throat]. >> But let's say you uh have a pacemaker.

and you're like, I've got 5 to 15 years. of battery life. That's what that's how. pacemakers break down. They just drain. their battery after a while. >> Yeah. Um, I'm looking for the pacemaker. that gathers um that's recharged by. motion. You know those like um. inventions where like you can dance and. you're actually lighting up the dance. [laughter] floor. >> Why can't you do that with a pacemaker. battery? It seems like seems like. something you could do eventually. >> Uh I could see them working on something. like that. Uh at least give me the.

15-year version. >> Sure. >> Uh because every time it's triggered, you know, it's not necessarily running. fulltime. It's triggered to run when you. need it. Mhm. >> Uh depending on on the kind and it's. going to drain that battery a little bit. like you said. So um you know you can. get a temporary pacemaker while you're. recovering for a heart attack maybe um. to speed up your heart rate. Uh that's. not implanted. That's just like hey you. got out of surgery so we're going to. just keep you on the right track for now. with this thing.

>> Yes. I I I want to say like the next step up. is the artificial heart, but it feels. like that's many many steps above a. pacemaker in severity, um inventiveness, all that stuff. But essentially what an. artificial heart is, it steps in when. your um ventricles are no longer capable. of pumping blood well enough to get it. to your lungs or through the rest of. your circulatory system. So, what they. do is they go in and cut out your. ventricles and they put in an artificial. heart, which is basically those two new.

artificial ventricles to do that job for. you. >> And what you do, you have like wires. coming out of your body and they're. connected to an outside driver. >> And this in and of itself is just. amazing because yeah, up until I guess I. don't remember when the first Yeah, the. first one took place in 1982. up to that. if you needed a heart, you were on a. heart transplant list and there's not. nearly enough heart donors to to um meet.

the supply needed. So, a lot of people. died on waiting for a heart transplant. The artificial heart's meant to step in. and say, "Hey, how about we use this to. keep you alive until you can get that. donor heart?" Um, that's that's what the. artificial heart is as it stands. What. they're working toward is what's called. a total artificial heart, which is. exactly what it sounds like. Rather than. getting a donor's heart, someone else's. heart put into your chest, you would get.

this total artificial heart put into. your chest and that's all you'd ever. need. It's like a artificial donor. heart. >> Yeah. It's incredible looking. I. remember when I was a kid, I mean, this. the first one was in 1982, like you. said, I was 11. >> And when I saw the name, the patient's. name, Dr. Barney Clark, it was like, oh, boom. Yeah, that was him. Like it was. such a big deal in the news. >> Like even a little 11-year-old that like. normally wouldn't care about this kind. of thing. It's like implanted in my. brain. Uh a guy doctor named William. Deere implanted the Jarvik 7 and that.

was the first like successful design and. you know it looks like a a heart. Uh, sadly Barney Clark only lived uh for. about 112 days. >> And as you might expect, it was like. complications from like um the wires and. stuff. Like it it wasn't that the the. artificial heart itself failed. It was. just comp complications from the. surrounding things it's connected to. >> I think four other people got Jarvik 7.

implants. Um and at least one of them. did die because the the machine wasn't. working correctly. And I saw that those. those wires that were coming out of you. that's connected to the thing that's. powering all of it, the original Jarvik. 7, that power unit was the size and. weight of a of a fullsize refrigerator. >> Oh my gosh. >> So if you had an artificial heart, you. weren't leaving the hospital anytime. soon. And I don't think anybody who had. a Jarvik 7 did. But I did see, did you. see the um story of Leaf Stenberg?

>> No. So, Leaf Stenberg was one of the. recipients of the Jarvik 7 and I guess. they found out after they implanted it. that he was actually a Swedish crime. boss and he got an artificial heart and. lived for 212 days. And during that. time, >> his lawyers argued that he um could not. be tried for crimes that he was um. facing. And um they argued it because. under Swedish law, you die once your. heart stops beating. And they're like,

"His heart already stopped beating. He's. got an artificial one, so therefore he's. legally dead and can't face prosecution. [laughter]. >> That's right. >> Isn't that nuts? >> I read that over when you sent it. That. That's uh that's some legal trickery. right there. [laughter]. >> It is from our Swedish friends. >> Uh you know, obviously um the first idea. would be like, "Hey, let's make. something that looks and like um acts. and behaves just like a heart because. that seems like the most logical thing. to do." Sure. But as time goes on, as. with most things, people come along and.

say, "Maybe it should be like simpler. Maybe we can design a streamline thing. that doesn't need to have like uh. doesn't need to like behave exactly like. your traditional heart." And that's what. they're doing. That's the stuff they're. working on now where um it's like a. continuous flow with a couple of. chambers, right? >> So like it has a rotor that moves blood. constantly instead of like relying on. this thing to pump like an actual heart. And that it makes just less moving. parts, more simplified. It makes a lot. more sense, I think. >> Totally. It's way more stripped down,

way less parts. So, yeah, the idea of. wear and tear is much different than. what it is with all the other artificial. heart designs. So, >> yeah, pretty cool. >> Who knows? Yeah. I mean, this this I was. reading about and people are like, "This. may be the one that total artificial. heart that if you go in and you need a. heart, they ordered this from the. supplier and the supplier sent it to. them and now they're going to put it in. your chest and you're going to live x. number of years walking around with a. knot attached to a fridge.". >> Yeah. And they say, "You're the first. person." And you go, "Oh, great.".

>> I know. [laughter]. Remember we talked about test pilots or. test um aircraft? And it was in the um. Hindenburg episode, I think, where it. was like when you're in the double. digits of the the test um aircraft, you. do not want to do that. You want to wait. until at least double or triple digits. Same with an artificial heart. >> Yeah, agreed. Uh and you know, the last. thing I just want to say as far as the. PSA is, >> uh I feel like heart issues are way more. male focused.

uh you tend to think of like men having. a heart attack and men needing this kind. of stuff and men having cardiac arrests, but uh that's that's does a disservice. to the fact that um plenty of women need. this help and care and screenings as. well. So, uh we're talking to everyone. here. >> Yep. Good job, man. That was great. >> Yeah. >> Uh well, that's it for Hart for now. Um. sorry to this point, Jerry, who very. excitedly said the band when we told her. what we were recording. Yeah. >> Uh, and uh, since I just said we.

disappointed Jerry, that means that. we've unlocked listener mail. >> Yeah. This is a quick correction of. sorts. And the short stuff about. flappers, you guys, Josh mentioned Clara. Bo was the first ITG girl. >> Clarab was in the film It, not the. horror film, obviously, >> and may have been referred to as an ITG. girl, but I believe the very first ITG. girl, as you uh, guys were talking. about, was Evelyn Nesbbit. >> Okay. Just throwing that out there. Thanks for the great shows. That is from.

Dave Twist in Massachusetts. >> Very nice. Thanks a lot, Dave. Um, yeah, I probably would have guessed Claire Bau. after that and by God, I would have. gotten it wrong again. >> Well, according to this guy. >> So, if you want to be like Dave and tell. us something, some fact or correction. that may or may not be true, we would. love to hear that. You can send it off. via email to stuffodcast.com. Stuff You Should Know is a production of.

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