Heart Facts & Realities
Fascinating, surprising, and hard-to-believe truths.
Facts about risk,
prevention, and lifestyle
High blood pressure is a silent killer — 33% of people with it don’t even know they have it.
Cigarette smoke contains 7,000+ chemicals, including 70 known carcinogens.
Replacing pop and sugary drinks with water is a simple and proven way to lose weight and improve heart health.
For heart attacks: time is critical — if you have new or severe chest pain, especially with difficulty breathing, call 911.
In Canada, cardiac arrest happens every 9 minutes. The survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (75% of cases) is only ~10%.
Blood test for lipoprotein(a) matters: ~20% of Canadians have elevated levels, which increases heart attack risk.
Reducing salt isn't just about the shaker — read food labels: 1 tablespoon of soy sauce = ~40% of your daily salt limit.
A defibrillator can save your life in cardiac arrest — less than 20% of Canadians know CPR, even though it can double or triple survival chances.
Stress and lack of sleep can put serious pressure on your heart through hormones like cortisol, leading to weight gain and disease.
Nearly 1 in 4 adults aged 20–45 have high blood pressure: regular checkups are key.
Smoking increases your risk of heart disease by 200–400%; even light smoking (1–5 cigarettes/day) significantly increases risk.
There’s no magic from vitamins or supplements — a healthy, balanced diet is still the most effective protection.
To stay healthy, aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate, heart-pumping activity most days (150 min/week or more).
Not all fats are equal: visceral fat (around your belly) is more harmful for heart disease risk than peripheral fat.
GLP-1 medications (like Ozempic, Mounjaro) are now shown to reduce heart disease risk in people with diabetes.
Alcohol: while moderate red wine has been linked to some benefits, there is no totally “safe” level.
At Operation Heart, we believe in not only training the next generation of surgeons — but also educating the public about what really happens in the OR, the reality of the heart, and what heart disease looks like up close.
Operating Room
Realities
Most heart surgeons start at 8 AM, performing two major procedures in a day.
A typical heart surgery team includes 2–3 surgeons, 2 anesthesiologists, 1 perfusionist, and 3–4 nurses.
Many surgeries use a heart-lung machine that temporarily takes over your heart and lung function.
Surgeons access the heart by sawing open the breastbone (sternotomy) in many cases.
Some modern surgeries are done using robotics and keyhole incisions, especially for valve work.
To perform bypass surgery, veins from the legs or arteries from the chest and arm are used to restore flow to the heart.
Surgeons sometimes play music in the OR — rock and house are not uncommon.
The risk of dying from coronary artery bypass surgery is approximately 1%, and most patients can go home in about 5 days.
During surgery, chemicals are used to stop the heart, and patients may be cooled so that blood flow stops for 30+ minutes.
The average heart surgery lasts around 4 hours.
At Operation Heart, we believe in not only training the next generation of surgeons — but also educating the public about what really happens in the OR, the reality of the heart, and what heart disease looks like up close.
In the 1800s, many thought operating on the heart was so dangerous that someone who tried “should lose the respect of his colleagues.”
The first heart surgery was performed in 1896, when an Austrian surgeon repaired a stab wound.
The first heart transplant in the world happened in Cape Town, South Africa.
About 1–2% of people have a congenital defect called bicuspid aortic valve.
One of our patients holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon time after open heart surgery.
In Canada, there are 150–200 heart transplants annually, and the average wait time on the transplant list is 300+ days.
The median survival after a heart transplant is about 10 years.
History &
Interesting
Tidbits
Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder and increases stroke risk by ~500%.
Notable figures who died from aortic dissection include Lucille Ball, John Ritter, and King George II.
There are only about 250 practicing heart surgeons in Canada.
Heart anatomy, physiology,
and how the heart works
Your heart beats about 100,000 times per day — over 35 million times per year.
The heart pumps about 5 liters of blood every minute, and over 7,500 liters per day.
Your heartbeat is controlled by an electrical system — not by the brain. Electrical signals travel through the heart at about 1 meter per second.
Capillaries — the smallest blood vessels — are so tiny that red blood cells pass through single file.
Your heart has four chambers: two atria (upper) and two ventricles (lower). The left ventricle is the strongest chamber — it pumps blood to your entire body. The right side pumps blood only to the lungs.
The arteries appear red because they carry oxygen-rich blood; veins look blue because the blood has less oxygen.
Red blood cells take only about 20 seconds to circulate through your whole body.
The entire circulatory system is about 96,000 km long — enough to wrap around the Earth twice.
Feelings and emotions impact the heart. For example, extreme sadness can trigger “broken heart syndrome”, which is a serious condition.
Your heart is roughly the size of two of your fists, and its tip leans to the left side of your chest.
Exercise makes the heart more efficient — athletes’ hearts beat slower because they pump more blood per beat.
During each heartbeat, all 4 valves open and close in a precisely timed sequence lasting less than a second.