Your Heart Explained: A Grand Rapids, MI Guide

Understanding how your heart works is essential for protecting your health—especially in a city like Grand Rapids, Michigan, where heart disease is one of the most common health concerns. Local health systems such as Spectrum Health, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, Metro Health, and Mercy Health offer advanced cardiac care, but the first step starts with knowing your own heart.

Your Heart: A Vital Organ

Your heart is a strong muscle that pumps blood to every part of your body. With each beat, it sends oxygen and nutrients through your bloodstream so your organs, muscles, and brain can function properly.

  • Size: About the size of a clenched fist
  • Weight: Around 300–450 grams
  • Location: In the middle of your chest, slightly to the left, behind your breastbone (sternum)

If you are of average body size, your body contains about five liters of blood, and all of it passes through your heart roughly every minute. When you exercise—whether you’re walking along the Grand River, biking the White Pine Trail, or shoveling snow in a West Michigan winter—your heart can pump up to four times more blood per minute to meet your body’s increased demands.

The Four Chambers of the Heart

Your heart has a right side and a left side, separated by a wall of muscle called the septum. Each side has two chambers:

  • Upper chambers: Right atrium and left atrium
  • Lower chambers: Right ventricle and left ventricle

How blood flows through the heart:

  1. Right side (low-oxygen blood):

    • The right atrium collects blood returning from the body that is low in oxygen.
    • This blood moves into the right ventricle.
    • The right ventricle pumps it to the lungs, where it picks up oxygen.

  2. Left side (oxygen-rich blood):

    • Oxygen-rich blood returns from the lungs to the left atrium.
    • It flows into the left ventricle.
    • The left ventricle pumps it out through the aorta, the body’s largest artery, to deliver oxygen to all your organs and tissues.

Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps.

Heart Valves and the “Lub-Dub” Sound

Each atrium is connected to its ventricle by a one-way valve that keeps blood flowing in the correct direction:

  • Tricuspid valve: Between the right atrium and right ventricle
  • Mitral valve: Between the left atrium and left ventricle

As your heart beats, these valves open and close. The familiar “lub-dub” sound you hear with a stethoscope is caused by the valves snapping shut as blood moves through the chambers.

Damage to these valves—sometimes from infection, aging, or conditions like rheumatic heart disease—can make it harder for your heart to pump blood efficiently and may require evaluation by a cardiologist at a Grand Rapids heart center.

Your Heart’s Electrical System

Your heartbeat is controlled by a natural electrical system within the heart.

  • In the right atrium, a cluster of cells called the sinus node (SA node) acts as your heart’s natural pacemaker.
  • The sinus node sends an electrical signal that causes the upper chambers (atria) to contract first.
  • The signal then travels to another cluster of cells called the atrioventricular (AV) node, located between the atria and ventricles.
  • From there, the electrical impulse spreads through the ventricles, causing the lower chambers to contract and pump blood out of the heart.

At rest, most adults have a heart rate of about 60–100 beats per minute. During physical activity or stress—common in Michigan winters when you’re exerting yourself in the cold—your heart rate naturally increases.

Blood Vessels of the Heart

Several major blood vessels work with your heart to circulate blood throughout your body:

  • Coronary arteries

    • Sit on the surface of the heart.
    • Supply the heart muscle itself with oxygen-rich blood.
    • When these arteries become narrowed or blocked, it can lead to coronary heart disease, angina, or heart attack.

  • Aorta

    • The largest artery in the body.
    • Carries oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle to the rest of the body.

  • Pulmonary arteries

    • Carry oxygen-poor blood from the right ventricle to the lungs.

  • Pulmonary veins

    • Return oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the left atrium.

  • Venae cavae (superior and inferior vena cava)

    • Large veins that bring oxygen-poor blood back to the right atrium.
    • The superior vena cava returns blood from the head and upper body.
    • The inferior vena cava returns blood from the lower body.

Common Heart Conditions in Grand Rapids

In Grand Rapids and across Michigan, heart disease is a leading cause of illness and death. Factors like cold winters, limited outdoor activity in certain seasons, higher rates of high blood pressure, and cholesterol can all affect heart health.

Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease occurs when the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle become narrowed or blocked by fatty deposits (plaque). This reduces blood flow to the heart.

Coronary heart disease can lead to:

  • Angina
  • Heart attack (myocardial infarction)

Angina

Angina is a type of chest pain or discomfort caused by reduced blood flow to the heart muscle due to narrowed coronary arteries.

Symptoms may include:

  • Chest tightness, pressure, squeezing, or pain
  • Discomfort that may spread to the arms, neck, jaw, shoulders, or back
  • Symptoms that may be triggered by physical activity (like shoveling snow, climbing stairs, or brisk walking) or emotional stress and usually improve with rest

Heart Attack

A heart attack happens when a blood clot or sudden blockage cuts off blood flow to part of the heart muscle. Without oxygen and nutrients, that part of the heart begins to die.

A heart attack:

  • May or may not be fatal, especially if treated quickly
  • Can cause permanent damage to the heart muscle
  • Requires immediate emergency care at a hospital such as Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, or another local emergency department

Abnormal Heart Rhythms (Arrhythmias)

Arrhythmias are problems with the heart’s electrical system that affect the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat.

  • Your heart may beat too fast, too slow, or irregularly.
  • Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most common arrhythmia. In AFib, the upper chambers beat irregularly and often rapidly, which can increase the risk of stroke and heart failure.

Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital heart disease refers to heart or blood vessel problems that a person is born with. These may include:

  • Blocked blood flow inside the heart or major vessels
  • Abnormal blood flow between chambers
  • Heart structures that did not develop normally

Some congenital heart conditions are detected in infancy or childhood at local hospitals, while others are diagnosed in adults during routine checkups or heart imaging.

Heart Inflammation

Inflammatory heart conditions can affect different parts of the heart:

  • Pericarditis: Inflammation of the outer lining of the heart (pericardium)
  • Myocarditis: Inflammation of the heart muscle itself

These conditions may follow infections, autoimmune diseases, or certain medications and can cause chest pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath.

Symptoms of Heart Disease

Different heart conditions can cause different symptoms. It’s important for Grand Rapids residents to recognize warning signs, especially given the added strain cold weather can place on the heart.

Common symptoms include:

  • Chest discomfort or pain

    • Pressure, aching, numbness, squeezing, fullness, or pain in your chest
    • May spread to the arms, neck, jaw, shoulders, or back
    • Can last several minutes or come and go

  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

    • With or without chest discomfort
    • May occur at rest or with activity

  • Sweating or a cold sweat

  • Racing heart or palpitations

    • Feeling like your heart is pounding, fluttering, or skipping beats

  • Lightheadedness, dizziness, or feeling faint

  • Nausea, indigestion, or vomiting

  • Feeling anxious or unusually fatigued

These symptoms can be more subtle in women, older adults, and people with diabetes—groups well represented in the Grand Rapids and broader Kent County population.

When to Call 911 in Grand Rapids

Call 911 immediately if:

  • You have chest pain, pressure, or discomfort that
    • Lasts more than 10 minutes,
    • Is severe, or
    • Is getting worse
  • You have chest discomfort plus any of these:
    • Shortness of breath
    • Cold sweat
    • Nausea or vomiting
    • Pain spreading to your arm, neck, jaw, shoulder, or back
    • Feeling faint or very weak

Do not drive yourself to the hospital. In Grand Rapids, calling 911 activates emergency medical services who can begin life-saving treatment on the way to the nearest emergency department (such as Spectrum Health, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, Metro Health, or Mercy Health).

Local Heart Health Resources in Grand Rapids, MI

If you are concerned about your heart health, there are many local resources:

  • Your primary care doctor (GP) – first stop for blood pressure checks, cholesterol screening, and risk assessment
  • Cardiologists in Grand Rapids – heart specialists available through Spectrum Health, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, Metro Health, and Mercy Health
  • Kent County Health Department – offers community health programs, screenings, and education
  • Grand Rapids Public Health and local clinics – provide preventive care, lifestyle counseling, and referrals to heart specialists

Regular checkups are especially important in Michigan, where seasonal changes—from hot, humid summers to cold, icy winters—can affect blood pressure, activity levels, and overall heart health.

Key Points About Your Heart

  • Your heart is a powerful muscle that pumps blood throughout your body.
  • An electrical impulse from the sinus node and AV node causes the upper and lower chambers to contract in sequence.
  • Coronary heart disease is common and can lead to angina and heart attacks.
  • Angina is chest pain caused by reduced blood flow in the coronary arteries, leading to chest tightness, discomfort, or pain.
  • Different heart conditions—such as valve disease, arrhythmias, congenital heart disease, and inflammation—can have different symptoms.
  • Recognizing symptoms early and seeking prompt medical care in Grand Rapids can save your life.

If you live in the Grand Rapids area and have questions about your heart, schedule an appointment with your doctor or a local cardiologist to discuss your risks, screening options, and ways to keep your heart healthy year-round.