id author title date pages extension mime words sentences flesch summary cache txt en-wikipedia-org-3892 Heart - Wikipedia .html text/html 7377 486 63 In humans, other mammals, and birds, the heart is divided into four chambers: upper left and right atria and lower left and right ventricles.[4][5] Commonly the right atrium and ventricle are referred together as the right heart and their left counterparts as the left heart.[6] Fish, in contrast, have two chambers, an atrium and a ventricle, while reptiles have three chambers.[5] In a healthy heart blood flows one way through the heart due to heart valves, which prevent backflow.[3] The heart is enclosed in a protective sac, the pericardium, which also contains a small amount of fluid. Oxygenated blood then returns to the left atrium, passes through the left ventricle and is pumped out through the aorta to the systemic circulation−where the oxygen is used and metabolized to carbon dioxide.[8] The heart beats at a resting rate close to 72 beats per minute.[9] Exercise temporarily increases the rate, but lowers resting heart rate in the long term, and is good for heart health.[10] ./cache/en-wikipedia-org-3892.html ./txt/en-wikipedia-org-3892.txt