Did you know that giraffes have a blood pressure twice as high as a normal human blood pressure? Yes!
NIH (National Institutes of Health) defines blood pressure as the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as the heart pumps blood.
Normal blood pressure for most human adults is defined as a systolic pressure of 120 mmHg and a diastolic pressure of less than 80 mmHg. However, giraffe’s blood pressure is as high as 280/180 mmHg. A giraffe’s heart is more than six feet away from its head; therefore, it will need more pressure to circulate blood to its brain.
A giraffe’s heart has two valves, the right valve pumps blood to the lungs while the left heart chamber pumps blood to the rest of its body.
Even though a giraffe’s heart is two feet wide and weighs 11 kilograms, it still needs to work harder to pump blood effectively to the tallest living mammal on the land.
Scientists discovered that giraffe’s left heart chamber has thicker walls to help push the blood to the animal’s entire body.
In addition to that, its heat rhythm is designed to fill more blood , and with a heart beat of 60 to 90 beats per minute, the giraffe’s circulatory system is very efficient to support its life.
Poem written by Salvacion Roselle Reyes
Photo credits: Adobe Creative Cloud Express