‘Only from the heart can you touch the sky.’
–Rumi

Everyone’s got one, but what do we actually know about it?

If you’re anything like me, you probably went through life thinking your heart was just an organ that pumps blood. You knew it was important, but only for this reason.

Well, it turns out that it’s not even half of what the human heart is capable of.

The human heart is nothing short of a miracle of creation!

It’s not just a versatile physical organ. It is also a powerful energy centre with astounding capabilities that we’re only just beginning to learn about.

But from what science can tell us, the heart seems to have the capacity to improve every area of our lives, and transform our world.

I truly believe that our world would be a much happier place if more people knew about the power of their hearts.

So that’s what I’ll aim to do in this post: introduce you to some of the amazing things you might not already know about your heart and its capabilities.

Let’s Begin!

The Heart as a Hormonal Gland

In 1983, it was discovered that the heart produces the ANF hormone (see below) and was designated an endocrine gland.

Since then, scientists have discovered that the heart creates and secretes many other hormones and neurotransmitters:

Atrial Natriuretic Factor (ANF) – This hormone affects the blood vessels, kidneys, adrenal glands and many areas of the brain.

Noradrenaline (a.k.a Norepinephrine) and Dopamine – The main role of noradrenaline is to mobilise the body and brain for action. Some of its effects include increasing focus, alertness, and blood pressure.

You may have already heard of dopamine–it’s commonly referred to as the ‘feel good’ hormone in popular culture. This is because it forms part of the brain’s ‘reward mechanism.’

But dopamine’s main role seems to be related to motivation–making us want to do or avoid doing something. One of its other functions is to inhibit the secretion of noradrenaline.

Oxytocin – Oxytocin is commonly known as the ‘love’ or ‘bonding’ hormone–especially in the context of the love and bonding between mothers and babies.

But this hormone is known to play a part in many other processes, including cognition, learning social cues, and the formation of enduring pair bonds.

The Heart as a Second Brain

Around 1991, it was discovered that the heart has a collection of 40,000 or so neurons (nerve cells) similar to those found in the brain.

These cells form a complex nervous system with several capabilities and is now referred to as ‘ the heart-brain’.

The heart-brain is capable of acting independently of the cranial brain and nervous system, to sense, learn and process information.

It was also found to have its own memory! And it’s this memory that makes heart transplants possible.

Heart transplants require that the heart’s connections to the donor’s nervous system are severed, when it is removed before a transplant.

When the heart is placed into the body of the recipient, its connections to the nervous system take a while to form. But the heart’s memory and its own nervous system allow it to still function properly during this time.

The Heart-Brain Connection

As you might imagine the heart and the brain work closely together and are in constant communication with each other.

But their relationship is not a case of a straightforward domination of the heart by the brain. Surprisingly, it turns out that the heart is a bit of a ‘little boss’ in its own right.

For example, it was found that the heart sends meaningful messages to the brain, which the brain understands and obeys. And the heart sends more information to the brain than vice versa.

Next, it was found that the way in which the heart communicates with the brain influences how we perceive and respond to the world around us.

Researchers from the HeartMath Institute report that our heart’s rhythms affect the brain’s ability to process information.

They also found that the heart has a mechanism through which it can communicate with the brain and inhibit the brain’s electrical activity.

Accordingly, positive emotions can increase the brain’s ability to make good decisions and vice versa.

If that wasn’t enough, it was even discovered that the heart has its own form of ‘logic’ which often differs from that of the autonomic nervous system.

What a little boss!

The Heart as an Emotional Centre

It isn’t clear to me at the time of writing, if the heart is a centre from which emotions originate.

But we’ve all had that feeling in our hearts, and felt it beating faster, during states of heightened emotion.

And studies have shown that the signals sent from the heart can influence emotional experience.

Based on the above, it’s safe to say that the heart does play a role in experiencing emotions, if not in creating them.

The Heart’s Magnetic Field

The human heart generates an electromagnetic energy field that envelopes the body and extends outwards.

It is the strongest electromagnetic field produced by the human body and is much stronger than that produced by the brain.

Researchers at the HeartMath Institute claim that this field can be measured from several meters away.

The heart’s magnetic field changes according our emotions and is thought to be a carrier of information, as other people are able to pick up information about a person through their interaction with this field.

For example, in one study, it was demonstrated that a mother’s brainwaves can synchronise to her baby’s heartbeat, even when they’re a few feet apart.

The Heart’s Role in Intuition

Researchers at the HeartMath Institute also believe that there is a connection between the heart and human intuition.

A study conducted in 2000 by the Institute of Noetic Studies involved showing participants a set of random images that were designed to elicit a negative or calming effect on them.

This study found that the participants’ autonomic nervous systems were responding even before they actually saw the pictures!

The HeartMath Institute attempted to replicate and expand on this study in a follow up study of their own.

In their findings, they report that while both the heart and the brain of the participants seemed to be receiving and responding to the pictures before the computer had even randomly selected them, the heart seemed to be receiving the information before the brain did.

Accordingly, they express the view that:

‘…the physical heart is connected to a field of information not bound by the classical limits of time and space.’

My suspicion is that ‘the field’ they refer to is the same one I wrote about in my previous post.

Dying of a Broken Heart

A 2014 study found that there is an increased risk of heart attack (and stroke) in the month following the death of a spouse or partner.

Sadly, some people really do die of a broken heart.

Change of Personality in Heart Transplant Recipients

As reported in this study, some heart transplant recipients have seen a change in their personality and abilities following a transplant.

In this story, a recipient who was a novice level artist took on the abilities of the donor, who was an accomplished artist, following a heart transplant.

Concluding Thoughts

Much has been said about the human heart throughout history and it has been viewed as an important part of our makeup.

But this is not necessarily due to the central role it plays in keeping us alive.

It seems as though our ancestors somehow knew about all the other amazing things about the heart that we’re only now beginning to discover.

And it looks like phrases such as ‘listen to your heart’ and ‘follow your heart’ have so much more truth to them than we ever believed.

Resources:

Most of the information in this post is based on material obtained from the HeartMath Institute, and on a paper by psychiatrist, Professor Mohamed Omar Salem, titled ‘The Heart, Mind and Spirit.’

The HeartMath Institute is an independent research institute based in California. It is a pioneer and leader in scientific research relating to the heart. I would encourage you to check them out–especially the infographic linked below.

Please follow the links below to access these and other resources:

• The Mysteries of the Heart Infographic (HeartMath Institute)
• The Heart Math Institute’s Website
• My Playlist of Videos from the HeartMath Institute on Youtube
• ‘The Heart, Mind and Spirit’ by Professor Salem (Royal College of Psychiatrists)
• ‘Evidence for an anomalous anticipatory effect in the autonomic nervous system’ (a study by the Institute of Noetic Sciences’)
• Electrophysiological Evidence of Intuition: Part 1. The Surprising Role of the Heart (A study by the HeartMath Institute)
• Electrophysiological Evidence of Intuition: Part 2. A System-Wide Process? (A study by the HeartMath Institute)
• A Deeper View of Intuition (An article by The HeartMath Institute)
• Heart-Brain Synchronisation between Mother and Baby
• Changes in heart transplant recipients that parallel the personalities of their donors
• The Art Transplant (Mail Online)
• The Field (My previous post)