Cardiovascular mechanics Flashcards
How can you view a heart?
via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
How would you describe the structure of musle?
muscle-> muscle bundle-> muscle fibres-> myofibrils
What are cardiac myocytes?
Contain the smallest functional units of the cardiac muscle= sarcomeres (their contraction determines the contraction of the muscle)
What happens to a sarcomere during cardiac myocyte contraction?
Z lines= come closer together (sarcomere shrinks)
A band= remains the same length
H zone= disappears
I band= shrinks
What is the I band?
actin filaments only
What is the H band?
Myosin filaments only
What are in cardiac myocytes?
sarcolemma
T tubules (line up with the length of the sarcomere= in line with the Z lines)
Sarcoplasmic reticulum (Ca2+ store)
Mitochondria
Nucleus (single nucleus, striated muscle)
What is the process of excitation-contraction coupling?
- L-type Ca2+ channel senses depolarisation + opens in response to AP
- Ca ions move down conc. gradient into cell
- Most of Ca binds to SR Ca release channel (ryanodine receptor ->ligand binding) which causes release of Ca from SR Ca stores (calcium induced calcium release)
- Ca released from SR goes to myofilaments to trigger contraction (Ca2+/troponin complex)
- To trigger relaxation Ca is taken up again by SR via Ca ATPase which uses ATP to restore Ca levels in SR until next beat/contraction
- Ca levels inside cell restored by Na+/Ca2+ exchanger -> uses downhill energy gradient of Na rather than ATP to release Ca2+ outside of cell
How is Force (%max) linked to cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration (microM)?
Where are L type receptors found?
Invaginations of T-tubules
What happens in a sarcomere during relaxation?
- Ca2+ ATPase into sarcoplasmic reticulum
- Na+/ Ca2+ exchanger into T tubule
What is the preload?
Weight that stretches the muscle before it is stimulated to contract
The initial stretch on the heart muscle as blood fills the chambers during diastole
What does preload depend on?
venous return
What is stretch determined on?
venous return and end diastolic volume
What is afterload?
Weight not apparent to muscle in resting state; only encountered when muscle has started to contract
Pressure against which the heart must eject blood during systole e.g., diastolic blood pressure
What does more afterload lead to?
more shortening
In vivo correlates preload and afterload with what?
As blood fills the heart during diastole, it stretches the resting ventricular walls
This stretch (filling) determines the preload on the ventricles before ejection
Preload is dependent on venous return (rate of blood flow back to the heart)
Afterload is the load against which the left ventricle ejects blood after opening of the aortic valve
Any increase in afterload decreases the amount of isotonic shortening that occurs and decreases the velocity of shortening
Measures of afterload include diastolic blood pressure
What are the factors that affect shortening?
Ventricular filling for isometric contraction
Pressure in the aorta for isotonic contraction
What is isotonic contraction?
increase in force with a shortening of muscle
what is isometric contraction?
increase in force without a change in length of myocyte
When does isometric contraction occur in the cardiac cycle?
No shortening of ventricles, during ISOVOLUMETRIC CONTRACTION
When does isotonic contraction occur in the cardiac cycle?
shortening of ventricles to eject blood, during RAPID EJECTION
This is a length-tension graph for which muscle?
This is a length-tension graph for which muscle?
What is total force?
passive force + active force
What is total force?
passive force + active force