1. Worldwide, 17.3 million people die every year from heart disease or stroke, which account for 31 per cent of all deaths. 

2. Aristotle believed that the heart was the source of intelligence and the main function of the brain was to cool our blood. 

3. Every day, your heart creates enough energy to drive a medium-sized truck 20 miles. 

4. The sound of heartbeats is made by the four valves of the heart opening and closing. 

5. On average, women’s hearts beat about 10 per cent faster than men’s. 

6. The heart of an unborn baby begins to beat about four weeks after conception. 

7. The heart of a blue whale weighs about 1,500 lb.

8. The words ‘heart’ and ‘blood’ can be found in every one of Shakespeare’s plays. 

9. Blood enters the heart through its atriums and leaves through the ventricles. “Atrium” is Latin for “entrance hall” and “ventriculus” means “little belly”. 

10. A hummingbird’s heart beats about 20 times a second. A blue whale’s heart beats between four and eight times a minute.