Normally, the blood coursing through our arteries and veins at any one time does a full circuit once a minute, an average of 2,000 gallons of blood a day.13, 14 This regular and consistent blood flow is essential to delivering fresh oxygenated blood to cells and removing waste. What influences much of the speed and strength of this circulation is the thoracic pump, the name for the pressure that builds inside the chest when we breathe. As we inhale, negative pressure draws blood into the heart; as we exhale, blood shoots back out into the body and lungs, where it recirculates.
