The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1894-03-23
Facts About the Heart

Surprising as it may seem, diseases
of two of the most vital portions of
the human body have received but
little attention from medical writers
and investigators. They are those OF
the heart and nervous system. The
former is the hardest worked organ of
the body, whose duty IL is to keep
every part of the human frame con
stantly supplied with the vital fluid
called the blood, and the moment this
| important organ ceases TO beat death
ensues, while i'm the nervous system
reside not only the mind but the seat
OF life, and upon its condition depend
the health and activity of the whole
or part eff the body. So delicate is
the nervous system and so intimately
Is 1t connected with the heart, that
the prick of q needle, in the upper
portion of the spinal cord, where the
roots OF the nerve which controls the
action OF the heart are located, will
cause instant death.
Weaknesses and diseases of this Or
gan are therefore exceedingly impor-
tant, as well as common. High au-
thorltleS state that one person in four
has defective heart, while those of a
whole family are often imperfect, and
what is more surprising is that two
thirds OF the persons thus affected are
not aware of the fact, but in their ig-
norance, attribute the symptoms of u
diseased heart, such as shortness of
breath, palpitation, pain i'm the chest,
etc, to other causes. And what is
more strange still, physicians COM
monty make the same mistake. In
the first stages of heart disease they
almost universally fall into this fatal
error, because too little is taught con-
corning this all important organ in
our medical colleges. The symptoms
or heart disease are given below, and
should be carefully read by everyone.
Scarcely a daily paper can be found
that does not contain a notice of the
sudden death, from heart disease, of
some prominent person who was
stricken down without warning while
apparently in the best of health and
bodily vigor. But this condition was
only apparent; premonitory symptoms
had long existed but were not recog-
nized, or were attributed to some
other affection, as were those of Cen
eral Sheridan in his first attack, when
physicians treated him for derange-
ment of the stomach but which sub
sequently proved to be organic disease
of the heart. Few physicians are
aware of the fact that heart disease is
a frequent cause of functional and or
ganic disorders of the stomach, lungs
and kidneys. Few persons die of
chronic disease af the heart whose
Stomachs, If examined, would not be
found to be affected. The frequent
and fatal error is in mistaking the eff
feet for the cause.
The heart is a hollow muscle stu |
ated between the lungs, little to the |
left of the centre of the chest. In the |
adult it is about five inches long, three |
and a half wide and two and a half |
thick. The average weight in man is |
three-fourths of pound, while in wo-
man 1T is two-thirds. 1t is divided in
to halves, the right and the left. |
Each side is sub-divided into two cav
tiles.
The right side of the heart receives
the dark blood from the veins of the
body, and forces it into the lungs to
become purified by coming in contact |
with the air. While in the lungs the
blood throws off carbonic acid gas and
absorbs oxygen. This process changes
the dark red blood to bright red. 1t |
then returns to the heart, entering the
left side; from thence it is forced
through the arteries to all parts of the
body. The heart contains four sets of
valves. Two of these separate the up
per and lower cavities of each side.
These, like the valve, or sucker in a
pump, perform an important duty.
From this necessarily brief descrip- !