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Heart Restarts
Teachers’ notes
What’s it all about
Many children will have heard the news story of Hannah who had a heart transplant as a baby
which is the theme for this activity. Children will be using Hannah’s story to engage their interest
in QCA 5A keeping healthy. This unit will be a joint science and speaking and listening project.
In this activity children learn about the heart. They learn about what causes the heart to stop
working properly and the need for transplants. In a role playing exercise they can explore the
science behind the story and their feelings about the idea of transplants.
Where it fits
Science:
QCA 5A – Keeping Healthy
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That the heart and lungs are protected by the ribs
That the muscle in the walls of the heart contracts regularly, pumping blood around the body
That blood vessels carry blood around the body
Literacy Speaking and Listening
Speaking
 To present a spoken argument. Sequencing points logically, defending views with
evidence and making use of persuasive language.
Eg Prepare a group presentation of the pros and cons of a current issue.
Writing composition
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to write a commentary on an issue on paper or screen, (e.g. as a news editorial, leaflet),
setting out and justifying a personal view; to use structures from reading to set out and
link points, e.g. numbered lists, bullet points;
to construct an argument in note form or full text to persuade others of a point of view
and: present the case to the class or a group; evaluate its effectiveness.
What children will learn:
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To use scientific names for some of the major organs of body systems in this case the
heart.(level 4)
Students will demonstrate this by drawing and labelling a diagram of the heart.
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Be able to describe the main functions of organs of the human body, the heart. (level 5)
Students will demonstrate this by talking about the functions of the heart in a role play
situation.
What you need to do
Introducing the activity
 Display page 1 through a data projector or on an OHT. Talk about the story of Hannah
Clarke. Why is the heart important? What are transplants? Where have children heard
about them?
OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Leaflets, info about the donor scheme.
EXPERIMENT
Ask ‘Where do you think the heart is located in the body?’
 Children to locate their heart and try and feel their heart beat by putting a hand on their
chest. If appropriate they could also listen to the heart beat of the person next to them by
putting their head on the other person’s chest.
Ask children to stand up and run on the spot for one minute, teacher timing them.
 Children to feel their hearts again. Is their heart beating faster than before they started
running?
 What has happened to their breathing?
 Again if appropriate they could listen to their neighbour’s heart beating.
Leading the main activity
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Display page 2 through a data projector or on an OHT. Ask the children to read out the
information. Does anyone know about donor cards? Discuss organ donation. Who
donates? Why? When?
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Display page 3 through a data projector or on an OHT. Print copies for the children.
Discuss the function of the heart. Display video clip of animated heart (see web links) on
interactive white board to reinforce the information.
Ask children how they think the blood gets round the body – we are looking for children to identify
the veins.
 In pairs children have 2 minutes to discuss this. What is their evidence? Is there any way
we can see this without looking inside the body as in the video clip?
 Children feedback to the class in their pairs.
 Everyone to look at the veins in their hands and arms
 Show children how to try and feel the pulse in their wrist
 Can they feel their pulse?
How are the heart and lungs protected? We are looking for children to identify the rib cage.
 Open up to class can anyone offer a suggestion?
 Children to feel the bones in the rib cage. Discuss the use of the word cage, being
something that is protecting two vital organs, the heart and lungs.
In pairs children are going to use role play to develop their understanding of the function of the
heart.
Using Hannah’s story as a stimulus, children will get into pairs and role play the parts of the heart
surgeon and Hannah or Hannah’s parents. The surgeon will explain why transplants are needed
and why the heart is so important. Hannah will want to know why she needed a transplant and
how it was done. Hannah’s parents will want to know why Hannah needs a transplant and how
the heart works.
After children have practiced their chosen roles they will be offered the chance to show their role
play to the class.
The ‘surgeon’ needs to explain to Hannah’s parents:
 That Hannah’s heart is not working so he/she needs to give Hannah a new one.
 The function of the heart and needs to draw a diagram to show where in the body the
heart is located. Children can use all the above work to illustrate this.
 The ribs protect the heart
 The veins carry the blood round the body.
Evidence
Children should now be able to take time and draw and label a clear diagram of the heart in their
science books. They should label this and cover the key learning outcomes.
EXTENSION ACTIVITY
This is another speaking and listening linked activity.
Children will be role playing in small groups.
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Display page 4 through a data projector or on an OHT. Ask the children to read out each
statement. Do they agree or disagree? They will now debate the subject through a
scenario.
INTRODUCTION
Whole class discussion:
 Where did Hannah’s new heart come from?
 What would have happened to her if no heart had been available?
 Talk about the donor scheme
Scenario
It’s a Saturday morning and all the family are at home a donor card arrives through the letterbox.
There is a national shortage of organ donors and they are desperate for whole families to sign up
to give someone else a chance of life if they die.
Children should take different points of view, some should be for and some against. Each side
must try and persuade the others of their point of view. Children should then swap roles and
present the opposing point of view.
You may want to display these ideas as well as page 4, or just read them out.
I want someone to live if I have a tragic accident.
It’s too horrible to think about, I don’t want to have this discussion.
How would you feel if you were Hannah’s parents?
What do you think Hannah would say to the family of the child whose heart she had?
How would we feel as a family if one of us had an accident and needed a new heart in order to
live?
It’s all wrong, we shouldn’t mess about with nature.
I wouldn’t want part of a dead person in me.
After children have rehearsed their scene in their groups, they could come and present their
drama to the rest of the class.
Finally the class could vote on whether they would like to carry donor cards or not.
Science at your fingertips
Why do some people need a transplant?
Heart failure does not mean the heart stops, it is simply not pumping blood as it should so the
body does not get as much blood and oxygen as it needs. It is caused by blocked arteries, past
heart attack which has done some damage to the heart muscle or heart defects present since
birth. High blood pressure, heart valve or heart muscle disease and infection of the heart or
valves are also causes.
What was wrong with Hannah?
she had a condition known as cardiomyopathy. This is a serious disease of the heart muscle,
which causes the organ to expand in size to try to compensate for the fact that its ability to pump
blood is compromised. In Hannah's case, her heart had already doubled in size by the age of just
two, and there were real fears it would soon give out completely.
What was the treatment?
Ten years ago, doctors at Harefield Hospital, Middlesex, decided to give Hannah a new heart.
The operation they carried out was a "piggy-back", or heterotopic, transplant. The new organ was
inserted into the right side of the chest and attached to Hannah's original heart, which remained
in position. The donor organ took over the job of pumping most of her blood around the body.
The original heart still pumped some of Hannah's blood, but, with most of the pressure relieved
by the new organ, was effectively able to rest.
The donor heart was connected in such a way that blood returning from the lungs was able to
enter the left-side filling chamber - or left atrium - of either of the two hearts. But because the
donor heart was the more healthy, it did the bigger share of the work. The two major blood
vessels leaving each heart - the aortas - were merged, to ensure that a unified blood supply to
the rest of the body. However, the circulation of the original heart was not fundamentally
changed.
Why is Hannah’s story unusual?
Most heart transplant operations involve replacing a faulty heart with a donor heart. However in
some cases, such as Hannah’s, doctors feel that if the heart could rest it would probably recover.
When Hannah’s body started to reject the donor heart the surgeons decided to try and restart her
original heart. This surgery was the first of its kind for this purpose in the UK. Now she does not
have to take the strong anti-rejection drugs that prevented her body rejecting the donor heart.
These days technology has moved on so that instead of adding a donor heart, the doctors would
insert a mechanical heart, known as a ventricular assist device, to take over its job temporarily.
Are parts of animals used in transplants?
In heart valve replacement operations it is possible to use either mechanical valves or bioprosthetic valves which come from pigs. With a mechanical heart valve replacement the patient
has to take blood-thinning drugs (anticoagulants) for the rest of their lives. This is not
necessary in the case of pig’s heart valves. There is huge debate over the issue of using
animal organs for transplant and the idea of using cloning to provide human organs.
Web links
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4904914.stm
Full story of Hannah Clark and how her heart transplant was reversed
BBC Newsround
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4900000/newsid_4905400/4905452.stm
Story of Hannah Clark
The Virtual body
http://www.medtropolis.com/vbody.asp
Animated heart at three speeds
BBC Science Clips
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/9_10/keeping_healthy.shtml
Keeping healthy animations
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/health/2000/heart_disease/default.stm
Heart disease: the facts