Cardiovascular Pharamacology Flashcards
What are the four heart valves?
Tricuspid
Pulmonary
Aortic (bicuspid)
Mitral
What does semi-lunar valves do?
prevent backflow of blood from pulmonary trunk & aorta into ventricles.
What does atrioventricluar valves do?
Prevent backflow of blood from ventricles to atria when ventricles contract
What are myocardial cells or mycocytes?
Contractile cells
What does the pulmonary circuit do?
Transports deoxygenate blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs and returns oxygenated blood to the left side of the heart
What does the systemic circuit do?
Transports oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body and returns deoxygenated blood back to the heart
What type of cells can a cardiac muscle be?
Contractile or autorhythmic
What is the intrinsic conduction system?
Internal regulating system responsible for rhythmic contraction of the heart
Where are autorhythmic cells found?
Sinoatrial (SA) node Atrioventricular (AV) node AV (bundle of His) Left and right bundle branches Purkinjie fibres
What is depolarisation current carried out by?
Slow Ca2+ currents- slower action potential
Why does slow depolarisation occur?
Due to opening of Na+ and closing of K+channels
What occurs in the repolarisation phase?
Rapid influx of K+ due to activation of K+ channels
What occurs in the depolarisation phase?
Once pacemaker potential reaches threshold Ca2+ channels open and a rapid influx of Ca2+ occurs leading to a self-induced action potential
What are both conduction and contraction dependent on?
Ion channels
What is the % contractile vs autorhythmic cells?
99% contractile myocytes
1% autorhythmic cells
How many phases is the action potential in typical cardiomyocytes composed of?
5 phases (0-4)
What are three features of cardiac pacemaker cells that makes their action potentials different?
Automaticity
Unstable membrane potential
No rapid depolarisation phase
Why is the refractory period important?
At very high heart rates, the heart would be unstable to adequately fill with blood and therefore ventricular ejection would be reduced
What is the absolute refractory period (ARP)?
When the cell is completely unexcitable to a new stimulus
What is the effective refractory period?
When the ARP and short segment of phase 3 during which a stimulus may cause the cell to depolarise minimally but will not result in a propagated action potential (i.e. neighbouring cells will not depolarise)
What is the relative refractory period (RRP)?
A greater than normal stimulus will depolarise the cell and cause an action potential
What is the supranormal period?
A hyperexcitable period during which a weaker than normal stimulus will depolarise the cells and cause an action potential. Cells in this phase particularly susceptible to arrhythmias when exposed to an inappropriately timed stimulus, which is why one must synchronize the electrical stimulus during cardioversion to prevent inducing ventricular fibrillation
What receptors does calcium activate?
ryanodine receptors on the sarcoplasmic reticulum
What does calcium enter the cardiomyoctye via?
L-type calcium channels
What does calcium return to the SR via?
The SERCA calcium channel
What is ischemic heart disease?
Lack of oxygen to the heart
What is ischemic heart disease also know as?
Coronary heart disease
What do the coronary arteries do?
Supply the heart with blood and oxygen
What do cardiac veins do?
Remove carbon dioxide and waste products from the heart tissue
What does the left coronary artery divide into?
Circumflex artery and the left anterior descending artery