The explanatory model of the heart in popular medicine in Maragheh is continuous with this long tradition: the hea rt is a pulsing physiological organ, b ut not responsible for the circulation of blood; and the heart articulates and is affected by the emotional state of the person. Blood is generally believed to travel around (dolanir , it 'strolls around') to provide nutrition to all parts of the body. Some believe this results from random movement of the body ("this is the reason your feet feel numb if you sit still too long"). One man described a wind (bad, yel ) which forces the blood through the veins, as blowing through a tube into a pot of water causes activity. The heart is not described as a lamp or furnace (Galen), as a reservoir for blood (Aristotle), nor as a pump, of course. It is sometimes called the 'clock' of the body, focusing attention on the regularity of its rhythm. It is more often described as the motor of the body: it is the central driving force of the body; it inhales and exhausts air; and if it fails the whole organism comes to a halt. Thus the physiological models of the heart only loosely link the heart to blood, instead emphasizing cent rality of the heart to life and focusing attention on the regularity of pulse in normal heart function.
Popular medicine does not speculate on a vital soul abiding in the heart and controlling passions, but 'the heart' is used linguistically to express affect, and emotional problems are believed to cause heart disease. In a variety of expressions, many still having English correlates, 'the heart' is treated as the subject of emotional experience and a symbol of the true essence of the person: urayim istir ('my heart wants . . . .'); urayimin dardin kimi diyim ('whom can I tell of the pain in my heart'); urayim kebab olur ('my heart is broiled as a kebab' or 'my heart is scorched' - said when describing a tragic event); qalbim xaber verir ('my heart gives me news' - said of a premonition); qalbidan qalba yol var ('there is a way from heart to heart' - said to a person one loves); zahremar urayivan bashina ('snake's poison to the top of your heart!' - a curse). The phrase qalbim narahatdi ('my heart is upset, uncomfortable, distressed') is a member of this class of expression. The heart thus provides an idiom for expressing emotion. In addition, to this, however, the functioning of the heart and its physical activity is believed to be directly and adversely affected by stress
and dysphoric affect - sadness, fear, anger, and general anxiety. These lead to irregularities in the beat of the body's 'clock', threatening ultimately a temporary halt or a sudden attack and death.