Think of your heart as a soft, squishy pump or a little house with rooms.
- When the heart relaxes: The heart opens up and fills with blood, like a balloon filling with water.
- When the heart squeezes: It gives a little squeeze and pushes the blood out into the blood vessels, like squeezing a toy to squirt water.
- Why that matters: The blood carries air (oxygen) and food to every part of your body and takes away the trash so you stay healthy.
Your heart keeps doing this again and again: relax (fill) — squeeze (push). You can feel it beat if you put your hand on your chest or touch your wrist!