Week#1

We all know the heart of the human body is the most important organ for human survival, but what makes it even more important is the heartbeat, one of the most versatile functions present in the field of STEM, and makes for a great example when, let’s say, debating about how science can be fascinating. Let’s begin with the physics of it. We all know the heartbeat follows a certain pattern, which is crucial to its function because if the pattern goes wrong, your entire system is at risk of falling apart. For all smartwatch lovers, if you run on a treadmill or are a big fan of the health app, have you noticed something called a Heart Rate? To make it easier, have you seen the little heart and then a number and the letters BPM next to it? Yes! That is the pattern your heartbeat follows. And that means that your heart beats a certain number of times in a particular interval. Does this ring a bell? I’m sure it does because this is the definition of Periodic Motion! In physics, we learn about periodic motion before moving on to topics of acceleration, etc., to help us understand motion better. In this case, the physics of the heartbeat, i.e., its periodic motion, helps us learn how the heart beats. This leads us to the question, how many times does it beat, say in a minute? For a healthy person, the average number of times the heart beats in a minute is approximately 70-80, more accurately, 72 times per minute. And every time we end a good workout, our devices count and record the heartbeat in Beats per Minute. And as we know, numbers link to math! So, your heart rate is the connection to math, and remember, a lower heart is always good for you (but not too low!). Moving on to biology, it is, of course, the first connection we make. We have the heart, which pumps blood, so the pumping creates heartbeats, and so on. But through this biology, let us understand what exactly the heartbeat is. Have you ever drawn that complicated figure of the heart from your textbooks? In that case, you can recall the pipe-like figures on top and around the heart, which are the arteries and the valves. These ‘tunnels’ help blood flow from within the four chambers, i.e., the atria and valves, to our body. During the flow in the chambers, the atria and the valves contract, producing a lub-dub sound. This contraction with the sound is your heartbeat. But there may be times when the heartbeat becomes abnormal due to issues like constriction in the valves, etc. In such a scenario, certain approved chemicals are used to regulate it, and a procedure called ‘Chemical Cardioversion’ is carried out. Cardiologists may use medicines like Propafenone or Amiodarone to treat something like ‘Atrial Fibrillation’ (very fast heartbeat) and Adenosine or Verapamil for something like ‘Supraventricular Tachycardia’ (faster-than-normal heartbeat starting from the upper chambers). These medicines contain hydrocarbons like ketones, benzofurans, nitrogenous compounds, amino compounds, etc., you know, the regular stuff you learn in your organic chemistry classes. Well, there you go; we found a connection to chemistry! To conclude, it is important to understand every aspect of your body, how it works, why it works, and especially the heart, because as Taylor Swift said, ‘Home is where the heart is….’. So take care of your precious little heart, and try to learn a little more about it than you already know