Cardio Physiology Flashcards
What is hematocrit?
Percent of blood volume that is composed of RBCs
If the plasma is 55% what is the hematocrit?
45%
________ carry blood away from the heart. ______ carry blood back to the heart.
Arteries; veins
What is the equation for flow?
Flow = Change in pressure/resistance
What has the biggest effect on resistance?
The radius of the tube.
What happens to resistance with more hematocrit?
Higher resistance
What are the three roles of valves?
- Provide rigidity
- Don’t allow back flow
- Electrically isolate atria from ventricles
How are muscle cells electrically coupled?
Via gap junctions
T/F: Cardiac muscle cells can be recruited.
FALSE
Each fiber contracts with each beat
Describe the parasympathetic innervation of the heart.
Vagus nerve innervates the ATRIA only. Uses ACETYLCHOLINE to activate muscarinic receptors.
Describe the sympathetic innervation of the heart.
Thoracic spinal nerves innervate the ATRIA and VENTRICLES. They release EPINEPHRINE and NOREPINEPHRINE to activate BETA receptors.
_________ innervation controls stroke volume and heart rate while _________ innervation only controls heart rate.
Sympathetic; parasympathetic
What is the flow of electric current through the heart?
SA node -> AV node -> bundle of HIS -> L and R bundles -> purkinje fibers
How are the nerve branches of the heart backed up in case things stop working?
All of the nerve fibers can spontaneously fire if the previous set of nerves don’t fire
What is the only method of communication between the atria and ventricles?
AV node
The electric signal goes slowly through which part of the nerve system?
From SA through the AV bundle
What is responsible for the rapid depolarization phase of myocardial muscles?
Rapid opening of voltage-gated Na channels
What causes the plateau phase of the myocardial ventricular cell contraction?
Calcium channels and K channels are open. Ca enters while K slowly leaves the cell.
What causes the repolarization of myocardial cells?
K rapidly leaving the cell
T/F: Myocardial ventricular cells have a true resting potential.
TRUE
Explain why autorhythmic cardiac nodal cells do not have a true resting potential?
Na ions are constantly leaking into the cell through FUNNY CHANNELS
Describe the process of an action potential in a nodal cell.
Slow entry of Na followed by slow entry of Ca -> threshold -> Ca rapidly enters (depolarization) -> K channels open and Ca close (repolarization)
T/F: Cells of the SA node have less funny channels than cells in the AV node.
FALSE
Less funny channels further down the cascade
What do P, QRS, and T waves represent?
P = atrial depolarization QRS = ventricular depolarization T = ventricular repolarization
How does the electrical signal trigger muscle contraction?
Calcium channels open -> trigger calcium enters -> calcium induced calcium release -> contraction
Why do cardiac muscle cells have a long refractory period?
To allow for the ventricles to fill
What is the first heart sound?
Closure of AV valves
What is the second heart sound?
Closure of aortic and pulmonary valves
_________ is the narrowing of the valves. ________ is when the valves are insufficient.
Stenosis; regurgitation
Systemic and pulmonary circulations are in __________. Organs in systemic circulation are in __________.
Series; parallel
What causes the aortic valve to open?
Pressure in ventricle > pressure in aorta
When the heart is in diastole, the ventricles are _________.
Relaxed