Cardiac Haemodynamics Flashcards
Why would this scan suggest pulmonary oedema?
More fuzzy –> less air = more fluid
Cardiac cycle of left side of heart
What is job of desmosomes in relation to heart?
Desmosomes stop separation during contraction by binding filaments, joining the cells together
How does the action potential spread between cardiac cells?
Gap junctions allow action potentials to spread between cardiac cells by permitting the passage of ions between cells, producing depolarization of the heart muscle
Structure of each muscle fibres in normal skeletal muscle
- Skeletal muscles are composed of tubular muscle cells (myocytes called muscle fibers or myofibers) which are formed in a process known as myogenesis
- Each muscle fibre composed of individual myofibrils which contain rows of adjacent sacromeres
- Actin (thin) and myosin (thick) filaments overlap
What are sacromeres?
A sarcomere is the complicated unit of striated muscle tissue. It is the repeating unit between two Z lines
Describe calcium during this phase
Lots of calcium outside cell, calcium channels open, calcium comes into cell
Calcium can be used to help start new cardiac contraction
Describe interaction of actin, tropomyosin and troponin
Troponin is attached to the protein tropomyosin and lies within the groove between actin filaments in muscle tissue
What is purpose of tropomyosin-troponin complex in relaxed muscle?
Hides binding site of actin to myosin –> preventing contraction by blocking myosin-actin binding
Describe how muscle contraction works regarding troponin-tropomyosin complex
- Influx of Ca2+ as cell is depolarised by action potential
- Ca2+ binds to troponin-tropomyosin complex (binds to troponin C specifically) and causes it to change shape
- Change in shape exposes actin binding site
- Myosin binds to actin to form crossbridge and contraction begins
What happens when actin binding sites are exposed? What does this require?
Myosin heads can bind to actin –> requires ATP
Myosin exerts, ‘pulling’ action on actin and initials muscle contraction
How is chemical energy stored and then converted?
Within ATP, then converted into mechanical energy (ADP).
Results in:
- Force generation
- Myofilament shortening
Transforms basic mechanical energy into useful hydraulic function for the whole organ
How is blood ejection maximised (3D structure and orientation of cardiac muscle fibres)?
- Longitudinal (top to bottom) filament shortening
- Horizontal and circumfrential (around) thickening
This reduces LV chamber diameter, raising pressure and force aortic valve open
What are the different directions of myocardial contraction?
- Longitudinal
- Horizontal
- Twisting (torsion)
Why does the system into which blood is propelled have inherent resistance?
It branches out into increasingly small and dense vessel networks
Why is a diastolic period essential?
The electrics repolarise, the myocardium relaxes and allows LV filling. Meanwhile the aortic valve shuts, the coronary sinuses fill so the coronaries are perfused, and the myocardium receives oxygen and glucose to allow more ATP to be generated.
What is cardiac reserve?
The capacity of heart to increase performace on demand (exercise, pregnancy, fluid overload)
Cardiac Reserve = Maximal Cardiax Output - Cardiac Output at Rest
What is equation for cardiac output?
Heart Rate x Stroke Volume
5 L/min at rest
Up to 20 L/min during exercise
What is effect of sympathetic innervation on heart rate?
- Speeds up SA node depolarisation
- More frequent action potentials
- Increases conduction through AV node / Bundle of His
What is effect of B-agonists in heart?
Bind to β-receptors on cardiac and smooth muscle tissues
Overall, the effect of β-agonists is cardiac stimulation (increased heart rate, contractility, conduction velocity, relaxation)
How can sympathetic input affect calcium and overall increase cardiac output?
- Prolonged opening of Ca2+ channels (more calcium binds to troponin and allow actin binding)
- Enhances calcium action in excitation/contraction coupling mechanisms
What is preload?
At the end of atrial systole and just prior to atrial contraction, the ventricles contain approximately 130 mL blood in a resting adult in a standing position. This volume is known as the end diastolic volume (EDV) or preload.
Compare stretch of skeletal muscle to cardiac muscle
Cardiac muscle have narrower range (don’t stretch as much to have tension) but is more sensitive (don’t have to pull apart to have lots of tension)
Sarcomere lengths do not change very much in cardiac muscle compared to skeletal muscle; nevertheless, small changes in sarcomere length can produce large changes in tension development
What happens with increased sacromere length?
What is the cardiac myocyte and what is it composed of?
- A specialised muscle cell composed of bundles of myofibrils that contain myofilaments
- Myofibrils have distinct, repeating units (sacromeres)
What is the sacromere composed of?
Thick and thin filaments (myosin and actin)
What causes sacromere length to shorten?
Chemical and physical interactions between actin and myosin cause length to shorter (myocyte contracts)
What are the thin filaments of sacromeres composed of?
3 different types of protein: actin, tropomyosin and troponin
Describe changes in sacromere length related to tension and force of contraction
Changes in sarcomere length are an important mechanism by which the heart regulates its force of contraction (see Frank-Starling relationship). As a myocyte is stretched (as occurs with increased ventricular preload), the sarcomeres within the myofibrils are also stretched. With increased sarcomere length, there is an increase in the force of contraction (i.e., tension development by the muscle fibre)