Heart valve facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Heart valves |
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| Valves of the heart in motion, the front wall of the heart is removed in this image. | |
| System | Cardiovascular |
A heart valve is like a special door inside your heart. Its main job is to make sure blood flows in only one direction. This stops blood from going backward, which is super important for your body to work well.
Your heart has four of these amazing valves. They guide the blood on its journey through your heart. Each valve opens and closes based on the blood pressure on either side of it. When the pressure is higher on one side, it pushes the valve open. When the pressure changes, it closes the valve, keeping the blood moving forward.
How Heart Valves Work
Your heart is a powerful pump that pushes blood all around your body. The four heart valves play a key role in this process. They act like one-way gates.
Guiding Blood Flow
Imagine a busy road with traffic lights. Heart valves are similar to these lights. They control the flow of blood. This ensures blood goes from one part of the heart to the next without any detours or wrong turns.
Opening and Closing
Heart valves open and close very quickly. They respond to the pressure changes inside your heart. When your heart muscles squeeze, they create pressure. This pressure pushes the blood forward and opens the valves in front of it. As the heart relaxes, the pressure drops, and the valves close behind the blood. This prevents blood from flowing backward.
Images for kids
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Blood flow through the valves
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This is a special 3D video of a heart. You can see the mitral valve clearly. The other valves are also visible as openings.
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This image explains the 3D heart video. MV means Mitral valve, TV is Tricuspid valve, and AV is Aortic valve. The lines show different parts of the heart.
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This picture shows the heart valves when the lower chambers (ventricles) of the heart are squeezing.
See also
In Spanish: Válvula cardiaca para niños
