Hearts by the numbers
Beats per minute: 130 for a newborn; 72 for an adult
Number of heartbeats in a 70-year lifetime: 2.5 billion
Output of blood per beat for each chamber: 2 tablespoons (which amounts to 5 quarts per minute)
Weight of the human heart: 8 ounces (adult woman) to 10 ounces (adult man)
Layers in the walls of the heart: three
Lifetime blood output (over 70 years): 250,000 gallons
Length of blood-vessel system (arteries, veins and capillaries): 60,000 miles
© 2003, The State (Columbia, S.C.). Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Compiled by Christine Schweickert, The State. Sources:fitness.howstuffworks.com/heart6.htm, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/eheart/facts.html.
