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A soft heart, a broken heart, a sweetheart . . . the heart has been a
metaphor for poets, philosophers, and artists throughout history and in
different cultures symbolizes the emotional, rational, or spiritual
center of our being. Particularly for scientists, the heart has
presented a fascinating puzzle, one that researchers continue to solve
today. In the 4th century BC,
Aristotle believed that the heart was the most important organ of the
body, because it was the first organ he observed to form in chick embryos
(1). In the 2nd century, Galen viewed the heart as tripartite,
interrelated with the liver and brain, and argued that the heart and
diaphragm distilled the “animal spirit” (2). However, by the
17th century William Harvey’s On the Circulation of the Blood
had positioned the heart back to biological and metaphorical center stage,
writing: “The heart . . . is the beginning of life; the sun of the
microcosm, even as the sun in his turn might well be designated the
heart of the world” (3).
As knowledge about the workings of the heart grew, so too did the
creations of writers and artists, including
movie makers. The 1966 science-fiction film Fantastic Voyage
looked ahead to a time
when scientists could explore and heal the body from the inside. Although
miniaturization is still in the realm of imagination, we know more about the
heart and healing than Harvey’s contemporaries could have imagined. The
themed articles in this issue of Preventing Chronic Disease focus on
the advancement of that knowledge, addressing heart disease and stroke as
part of
the prevention continuum and throughout multiple levels of influence on
population health. The articles in this issue demonstrate that, through
collaboration with national and state partners, public health professionals
can help to prevent, detect, and treat risk factors contributing to heart
disease and stroke.
Scientific papers; physiology, medicine, surgery, geology, with
introductions, notes and illustrations. Vol. 38, The Harvard classics.
New York (NY): P. F. Collier & Son; c1910. From The Internet Modern
History Sourcebook.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1628harvey-blood.html. Accessed
February 26, 2008.
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The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this
journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and
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