The Curious History of the Heart : : A Cultural and Scientific Journey / / Vincent M. Figueredo.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Columbia University Press Complete eBook-Package 2023
• VerfasserIn: Figueredo, Vincent M.,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : Columbia University Press, , [2023]; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource :; 45 figures

For much of recorded history, people considered the heart to be the most important organ in the body. In cultures around the world, the heart—not the brain—was believed to be the location of intelligence, memory, emotion, and the soul. Over time, views on the purpose of the heart have transformed as people sought to understand the life forces it contains. Modern medicine and science dismissed what was once the king of the organs as a mere blood pump subservient to the brain, yet the heart remains a potent symbol of love and health and an important part of our cultural iconography.This book traces the evolution of our understanding of the heart from the dawn of civilization to the present. Vincent M. Figueredo—an accomplished cardiologist and expert on the history of the human heart—explores the role and significance of the heart in art, culture, religion, philosophy, and science across time and place. He examines how the heart really works, its many meanings in our emotional and daily lives, and what cutting-edge science is teaching us about this remarkable organ. Figueredo considers the science of heart disease, recent advancements in heart therapies, and what the future may hold. He highlights the emerging field of neurocardiology, which has found evidence of a “heart-brain connection” in mental and physical health, suggesting that ancient views hold more truth than moderns suspect.Ranging widely and deeply throughout human history, this book sheds new light on why the heart remains so central to our sense of self.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- Figure 1 -- Figure 2 -- Figure 3 -- Introduction -- I The Ancient Heart -- 1 The Heart Means Life -- 2 Heart and Soul -- 3 The Heart and God -- 4 An Emotional Heart -- 5 Ancient Understanding of the Physical Heart -- 6 Ancient Heart Disease -- II The Heart Goes Into the Darkness and Comes Out in the Light -- 7 The Dark Ages -- 8 The Islamic Golden Age -- 9 The Viking Cold Hjarta -- 10 American Heart Sacrifice -- 11 The Heart Renaissance -- 12 Hither and Thither -- III heART -- 13 The Heart in Art -- 14 The Heart in Literature -- 15 The Heart in Music -- 16 Heart Rituals -- IV Heart 101 -- 17 The Pump -- 18 Heart Anatomy -- 19 Heart Sounds -- 20 The Color of Blood -- 21 The Heart’s Electrical System -- 22 What Is an EKG? -- 23 What Is Blood Pressure? -- 24 What Is Heart Failure? -- 25 What Is “Having a Coronary”? -- 26 Sex, Race, and Ethnicity in Heart Disease -- 27 Sudden Death of an Athlete -- 28 The Word Heart -- V The Modern Heart -- 29 Enlightenment and the Age of Revolution -- 30 The Twentieth Century and Heart Disease -- 31 Aspirin -- 32 The Twentieth Century and Heart Surgery -- 33 The Heart Now -- 34 The Broken Heart Syndrome -- 35 The Heart-Brain Connection -- 36 The Future Heart -- Afterword -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- References -- Further Reading -- Index