eli5: Why is it that a heart beats in pairs of beats?
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The heart is composed of for chambers, two atria (the top part of the heart) and two ventricles (the bottom part). Both atria contract or beat first forcing blood into the ventricles which contract soon after. While this generates a single pulse if felt at any pulse point such as the wrist or neck, if listening to the chest what can be heard is the “lub dub” associated with a heart beat as the chambers contract in sequence.
The heart is also divided into two halves, each with one atria and one ventricle. The right side sends blood to the lungs to get oxygenated and the left side sends the oxygenated blood to the body.
This is a very simplified explanation, hope it helps.
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