The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-12-04
Heart Beats of a Lifetime.

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Did you ever take the trouble to
figure out how many times tnc normal
heart wo"id huttcr in life timer
The young Statistician inquired Of a
friend. "Wcll, the subject cannot be
treated with absolute accuracy, but
ono may make good gucss at it.
All hearts do not beat at the same
rate Of speed, and there are lapscs
cycn in the rate Of speed at which the
normal heart fluttcrs. Shocks and
undue excitement will frequently
either suppress momentarily the
heart 8 activities or produce the oppo-
site effect in a 4uickencd rate Of
speed, an excited, cratic sort of fut-
tcring generally referred to as palpita-
tion. However the wise men, who
have burnt much oil in studying this
important organ in it's relation to the
other organs Of the human system,
have decided that the normal heart
will beat 72 times every minute. Ere
qucntly the heart Of an apparently
well person will flutter 100 times every
minute, and it sometimes happens
that heart will fall below the nor
NAL. But ~ is the normal agreed
upon, and We may take .his as basis
Of computation. If heart beats 72
times every minute, in the course Of
one hour it will beat 1920 times.
During the day, or ~ hours, it will
fluttcr l03,GS0 times, assuming that
there arc no lapscs and no activities
above the normal. At this rate Of
speed the heart will beat 725, 700
timos during one week, or seven days,
or about 2,9O3,040 during an average
month. On the same basis Of compu-
tation during year the human heart
would futter 37,843,2OO times, allow
ing 365 days for year. Taking 35
years of an average man 8 life, and we
will find that during that period of
time this slcepless, restless organ Of
the human organ will beat about L.
324 ,512, 900 times. If man should
live to be SO years Of age his heart
would beat 1892 l6O, 900 times. If
he lived to be 90 years old it would
beat 2,410, ,592 900 times. If he should
live to be o centenarian the heart
would futter 1874 1920, 900 times.
"Mind you, I have been falling
about the normal heart, or the heart
that is called normal by the men who
ought to know. The fact of the bust
ness is that but few normal hearts arc
found in this nge. The human heart
is ovarworked for one reason and an
other. \ surplusage of poison in the
blood, undue excitement resulting
from the stress Of modern business
methods and things of that sort have
tended to increase the rate cf speed at
which the average heart must beat.
Impurities Of every kind which find
lodgment in the arteries must be
weeded out by this tireless engine and
thrown off into the lungs, and an in
crease in the quantity Of impure sub
stances necessarily means increased
activity on the part Of the heart. The
expression is poetic fight, mere
metaphor, but one which is univer-
sally understood. But hearts do wear
out, and in this age Of rush and ex-
citing clamor the human heart is un-
questionably imposed upon, as in
cases, for instance, Of, the excessive
use Of alcohol and tobacco or other
stimulating Ingredients which fnd
Judgement in the human stomach.
''The figures 1 have given are based
on the normal agreed upon by the
authorities, but my own view is that
they are much below the real 6gures
when it comes to the average heart
Of this day" -Ne,u Orleans Times
Democrat.