Cardiac Cycle Flashcards
What fraction of time does the heart spend in diastole? Systole?
Diastole = 2/3 Systole = 1/3
True or false: the cardiac cycle reduces in time in equal proportion to the increase in heart rate
False–not exactly proportional, although they are inversely related
Where are the precordial leads positive (toward the outside of the body, or on the inside near the heart)?
Outside, on the body wall
What is R wave progression?
The fact that the R wave increases in amplitude as your move through the precordial leads
What is corresponding event in the cardiac cycle to depolarization of the SA node?
Blood is returning to the right atrium
What is corresponding event in the cardiac cycle to atrial depolarization?
Atrial contraction
What is corresponding event in the cardiac cycle to depolarization of the AV node (specifically, the delay here)?
Ventricular filling
What is corresponding event in the cardiac cycle to depolarization of the bundle of His and the Purkinje fibers?
Ventricular contraction
What is corresponding event in the cardiac cycle to ventricular depolarization?
Blood expulsion to lungs or periphery
What are the units for cardiac cycle?
time/beat (inverse of HR, but not proportional)
True or false: diastolic periods reduce less proportionally than systole when you increase the heart rate
False–more than proportionally (i.e. as the heart rate goes up, the heart spends a larger amount of time in systole than would be expected if it were a linear relationship)
When is the heart perfused, during diastole or systole?
Diastole
When does isovolumic contraction occur, in ventricular systole or diastole?
Ventricular systole
When does isovolumic relaxation occur, in ventricular systole or diastole?
Ventricular Diastole
When does rapid ejection occur, in ventricular systole or diastole?
Ventricular systole
When does rapid filling occur, in ventricular systole or diastole?
Ventricular Diastole
When does atrial systole occur, in ventricular systole or diastole?
Ventricular Diastole and systole (bridges the two)
When does reduced ejection occur, in systole or diastole?
Ventricular systole
What are the seven periods of the cardiac cycle?
- Atrial systole
- Isovolumic contraction
- Rapid ejection
- Reduced ejection
- Isovolumic relaxation
- Rapid filling
- Reduced filling
What accounts for the increase in atrial pressure in the isovolumic ventricular contraction phase?
AV valve will bulge back into atrium
What accounts for the steady increase in atrial pressure in the rapid and reduced ventricular ejection phases?
Refilling of the atria from the venous system
What accounts for the drop in the atrial pressure in the rapid filling phase of the ventricle?
Blood flowing from atria and into the ventricles
What is the “a” wave in the atrial pressure curve?
The contraction of the atria
What causes the AV valves to close?
Atrial pressure dropping below the ventricular
What is the purpose of the chordae tendiae?
Ensure that the AV valves do not fold back into the atria (do NOT pull the valves open as is commonly believed)
What is the event that corresponds to the “c” wave of the atrial pressure curve?
The bulging of the AV valves back into the atria
What is occurring in the atria as the ventricles contract?
They fill
When in the cardiac cycle do the AV valves open (what is the corresponding event in the ventricles)?
Ventricular isometric relaxation
What does the “v” point on the atrial pressure curve correspond to?
Opening of the AV valves
Pathologic increases in right atrial pressure leads to what physical exam finding?
JVD
What relieves the increase in the atrial pressure that is caused by the AV valves bulging back?
Overall contraction of the heart
In what phase does the ventricular pressure increase dramatically?
Isovolumic contraction
What causes the increase in ventricular pressure during atrial systole?
Movement of blood into the ventricles from the atria