Cardiovascular System Flashcards
Function of the Heart
Meet metabolic needs of the body and is achieved by ensuring adequate exchange of fluids dependent on vessel integrity and sufficient pressure and output
Impulse conduction of the heart
- SA node activity and atrial contraction begins
- Stimulus spreads across atrial surface and reaches AV node
- 100msec delay at AV node. Atrial contraction begins
- Impulse travels along interventricular septum within AV bundle and bundles of branches to Purkinje fibers and by moderator band, to papillary muscles of right ventricle
- Impulse distributed by Purkinje fibers and relayed throughout ventricular myocardium. Atrial contraction completed and ventricular contraction begins
Pacemaker cells
Sinoatrial node, Atrioventricular Node, bundle of his, Purkinje fibers
Pacemaker ability
Action potential in heart =/= Action potential in NS
Rate of AP generation
- SA node: 70 - 80 AP/min
- AV node: 40 - 60 AP/min
- Bundle of His and Purkinje: 20 - 40 AP/min
SA node is the fastest and sets the pace
Electrical activity of the heart
Done by specialized myocardial fibers; not motor neurons
- Contractile cells: 99% of cells do pumping
- Autorhythmic cells: Initiate and conduct AP generation for contraction of working cells
How is heart rate controlled
Controlled by autonomous nervous system
- increased sympathetic stimulus = increased HR
- increased parasympathetic stimulus = decreased HR
- both are active but one will dominate based on certain condition
Cardiovascular Control Centre
- affected by pain, chemoreceptor, baroreceptor, respiratory center
Control SA node
- affected by epinephrine and temperature
- acts only on SA node; not ANS
Interpret ECG
P wave: atrial depolarization (SA node fires)
PR segment: AV node delay
QRS complex: Ventricular depolarization and atrial repolarizing simultaneously
ST segment: Ventricules contracting and emptying
T wave: Ventricular repolarization
TP segment: ventricules relaxing and refiling
When is there no electrical activity recorded?
AV node delay (PR segment)
Ventricules completely depolarized and cardiac cells undergo plateau phase (ST segment)
Heart muscles relaxed and ventricules filling (TP segment)
What makes SA node weird in ECG
SA node firing is not detected as it does not create sufficient electrical activity to reach body surface and not recorded
Impulse spreading through atria is recorded
Define cardiac ouput
Volume of blood pumped out by each ventricle per min
Factors of cardiac ouput
Heart rate: beats per min
Stroke volume: volume of blood pumped per beat
CO = HR x SV
Ejection fraction
Fraction of blood ejected from ventricle per heartbeat
Measured by echocardiography
Measure of cardiac contractility and definite measurement by cardiac catherisation
EF = SV/EDV x 100% (Normal range = 55 - 75%)
Parasympathetic effects on Heart rate
Decrease contractility and weaken contraction of atrial muscles
Decrease excitability and increase AV node delay
Decrease rate of depolarization to threshold of SA node
No effect
- ventricular conduction pathway
- ventricular muscles
- adrenal medulla (endocrine gland)
- veins
Sympathetic effects on heart rate
Increased rate of depolarization to threshold of SA node
Increased excitability and decrease in AV node delay
Increased contractility of atrial and ventricular muscles
Increased conduction through bundle of His and Purkinje fibers of ventricular conduction pathway
Increased venous return and increased cardiac contraction via intrinsic control of veins
Increased epinephrine secretion
What is EDV
End diastolic volume
Frank Starling Law of the heart
Intrinsic relationship between EDV and SV
- ↑ diastolic filling = ↑ EDV = ↑ stretching of heart = ↑ length of cardiac muscle fibers = ↑ cardiac contraction = ↑ stroke volume
- basically ↑ EDV = ↑ SV
- sympathetic stimulus = ↑ heart contraction