Cardiovascular System Flashcards
In what cavity does the heart lie?
In the mediastinum
What is the pericardium?
Fibroserous sac surrounding the heart and it’s great vessels
What are the layers that make up the pericardium?
Consists of 2 layers: - Fibrous - Serous Serous has two parts: - Parietal: lines fibrous - Visceral: adheres to heart
How does blood flow around the heart, starting in the right atrium?
Blood flows from right atrium, through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle. It then flows through the pulmonary semilunar valve into the pulmonary artery to the lungs, becomes oxygenated and returns to the lungs in the pulmonary veins into the left atrium. It flows through the mitral valve into the left ventricle and is then pumped through the aortic semilunar valve into the ascending aorta
What vessels feed into the right atrium?
Superior and inferior vena cava
What vessel leaves the right ventricle?
The pulmonary trunk (left and right pulmonary artery)
What vessels enter the left atrium?
Pulmonary veins (left and right superior and inferior)
What vessel leaves the left ventricle?
Aorta
What vessels branch off the aortic arch?
1) Brachiocephalic truck (right subclavian artery and right common corotid artery)
2) Left common corotid artery
3) Left subclavian artery
What veins feed into the superior vena cava?
Left and right internal jugular vein and subclavian vein feed into the left and right brachiocephalic vein which feeds into the the superior vena cava
What tendons connect the tricuspid valve to the papillary muscles?
Chordae tendineae
What is the function of chordae tendineae?
Prevents the tricuspid valve from prolapse or inversion into the right atrium
What is the function of the papillary muscles?
Connects to the tricuspid valve with the chordae tendineae to prevent inversion or prolapse
What cusps make up the tricuspid valve?
1) Anterior cusp
2) Septal cusp
3) Posterior cusp
What cusps make up the pulmonary valve?
1) Anterior semilunar cusp
2) Right semilunar cusp
3) Left semilunar cusp
What valves make up the mitral valve?
1) Anterior cusp
2) Posterior cusp
What are trebeculae carnae?
Papillary muscles which pulls on chordae tendineae and aid blood flow, preventing suction
What are the nodes of the heart?
Sinoatrial (SA) node
Atrioventricular (AV) node
What are the internodal tracts of the left atrium?
1) Anterior internodal tract
2) Middle internodal tract
3) Posterior internodal tract
What node causes contraction of the atria?
sinoatrial node (SA)
What are the conduction tracts of the atria?
Anterior, middle and posterior internodal tract and Bachmann’s bundle
What are the conduction tracts of the ventricles?
Left and right bundle branch
What node causes contraction of the ventricles?
Atrioventricular node
What is the function of Purkinje fibres?
They carry the contraction impulse from the left and right bundle branch to the myocardium of the ventricles
How big are ventricular cells?
100μm long and 15μm wide
Where is calcium stored in the heart?
In the sarcoplasmic reticulum
What calcium channel is found on T-tubules?
L-type Ca channel
What channel allows Ca to leave the sarcoplasmic reticulum in the heart?
Ryanodine receptors
How is Ca removed from the cytoplasm, back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum in the heart?
SR Ca ATPase
What exchanger keeps the level of Ca at a steady state inside cardiac cells?
Na/Ca exchanger
How much Ca needed for contraction comes from the SR?
70%
What is the relationship between Ca and force of contraction?
Sigmoidal
What is the relationship between length (stretch) of cardiac muscle and the force of contraction?
Increasing length of muscle increases the force of contraction (up to a point- over-stretching will pull myofilaments apart and reduce force)
What is passive force in cardiac muscle?
The recoil of muscle due to stretch (elastic elements of the muscle)
What type of contraction do cardiac muscle have?
Isometric and isotonic
What has more passive force? Cardiac or skeletal muscle?
Cardiac
What is more compliant? Cardiac or skeletal muscle?
Skeletal
Cardiac is more resistant to stretch due to properties of ECM and cytoskeleton
Why does the heart use isometric contraction?
To increase the pressure in the ventricles
Why does the heart use isotonic contraction?
Shortens fibres to eject blood from the ventricles
What is preload?
Initial stretch on the muscle which prior to contraction
What is afterload?
Weight which is not apparent to the muscle in the resting state and is only encountered when muscle has started to contract
What effect does the afterload have on the amount of shortening of a muscle fibre?
The heavier the afterload the less shortening that occurs and the slower it occurs
What effect does preload have on the shortening of muscle with increasing afterload?
A larger preload allows muscle fibres to increase their shortening with a larger afterload
What is preload in the heart?
The blood filling the ventricles and stretching the resting ventricular walls is preload Stretch or filling determines the preload
What is preload in the heart dependent upon?
Venous return to the heart
What are the possible measures of preload in the heart?
End-diastolic volume
End diastolic pressure
Right atrial pressure
What is afterload in the heart?
The load against which the left ventricle ejects blood after opening the aortic valve
What are the possible measures of afterload in the heart?
Diastolic arterial blood pressure
What does an increase in afterload cause in terms of muscle shortening?
Decreases the amount of isotonic shortening
Decreases the velocity of shortening
What is the Frank-Starling relationship?
Increased diastolic fibre length increases ventricular contraction
(The more blood returned to the heart the more blood the heart will pump out)
Cardiac output exactly balances the augmented venous return
What two factors affect the Frank-Starling relationship?
1) Changes in the number of myofilament cross bridges that interact (between myosin and trophonin)
2) Changes in the Ca sensitivity of the myofilaments
What happens to calcium sensitivity when muscle fibre length increases?
Calcium sensitivity increases
What are the two possible reasons why Ca sensitivity increases when muscle fibre length increases?
1) Troponin C has higher affinity for Ca at longer lengths due to conformational change in protein
2) Decreased myofilament lattice spacing increases the probability of forming strong binding cross-bridges
What is work done? (by the heart)
Stroke work
Stroke work = SV x P
What is stroke work?
Volume of blood ejected during each stroke (SV) times the pressure at which the blood is ejected (P)
Stroke Work = SV x P
What is stroke volume?
The volume of blood ejected during each stroke
What occurs in diastole?
Ventricular relaxation during which the ventricles fill with blood
Split into four sub-phases
What occurs in systole?
Ventricular contraction when blood is pumped into the arteries
Split into two sub-phases
What is end-diastolic volume - end-systolic volume?
Stroke volume
What is the formula for ejection fraction?
EF = SV/EDV
Stroke volume / end-diastolic volume
What occurs in atrial systole?
Atria contract, adding to blood already in the ventricle. Atrial contraction complete before ventricle contraction. Gives a small increase in pressure (a wave)
On ECG this is initiated with the P wave
What is the ECG QRS complex?
Ventricle depolarisation
If you hear a heart sound in atrial systole what causes this?
A problem with the tricuspid valve or mitral valve
S4
What is isovolumic contraction?
Blood has filled the ventricles and they start to contract. Ventricle depolarisation causing contraction. This builds pressure but aortic and atrioventricular valves are closed so pressure builds
Isometric contraction
When do you hear the “lub” S1 heart sound?
During isovolumic contraction
What is rapid ejection?
Pressure in the ventricle exceeds pressure in the aorta and blood is forced out
Isotonic contraction
Large change in volume
This is the c wave
Nothing happening on ECG (electrically silent)
What is reduced ejection?
End of systole
aortic and pulmonary valves begin to close
Blood flow from ventricles decreases, ventricular volume decreases more slowly. Semilunar valves close
ECG- T wave due to ventricular repolarisation
Ca pumped back into SR and out of cell
What is isovolumic relaxation?
Beginning of diastole
Pressure is decreasing in the ventricles but volume doesn’t change (as muscle fibres relax)
Dichrotic notch- rebound pressure against aortic valve due to vessel wall relaxation
“dub” S2 sound
What is rapid ventricular filling?
AV valves open and blood flows from the atria into the ventricle. Ventricular volume increases and atrial pressure falls
S3 heart sound due to signify turbulent ventricular filling. Can be due to severe hypertension or mitral incompetence
What is reduced ventricular filling?
Diastasis
Ventricular volume increases more slowly
On what side of the heart are pressure the highest?
The left side
On what side of the heart are the volumes the highest?
Equal on both sides
What is the average pressure on the left side of the heart?
120/80mmHg
What is the pressure on the right side of the heart?
25/5mmHg
What is a pressure-volume loop?
Pressure increase (1→2): End-diastolic volume→ isovolumetric contraction (full ventricle) Volume decrease (2→3): Isovolumetric contraction → end systolic volume (blood ejected) Pressure decrease (3→4): End systolic volume → Isovolumetric relaxation (muscles relaxes and pressure drops) Volume increase (4→1): Isovolumetric relaxation → end diastolic volume
Where are the preload and afterload on the pressure-volume loop?
Preload: Point 1
Afterload: Point 2
What happens to stroke volume is you increase afterload (e.g. hypertension)
Increased afterload decreases the amount of shortening. This decreases stroke volume
What three things effect stroke volume?
1) Preload
2) Afterload
3) Contractility
What is cardiac contractility? What causes it to increase?
The contractile capability (or strength of contraction) of the heart
It is increased by sympathetic stimulation
What measure gives cardiac contractility?
Ejection fraction
Increasing or decreasing contractility does what to volume and pressure in the heart?
Increasing contractility increases pressure and volume
Decreasing contractility decreases volume and pressure
During exercise what happens to contractility and end diastolic volume?
They increase
At rest (diastole) what are cardiac cell membranes permeable to?
Only K
What causes the refractory period of a cardiac action potential?
Na channel inactivation. They recover from this when the membrane is repolarised
What controls the duration of contraction of the heart?
The duration of action potential
What is the absolute refractory period of cardiac action potential?
Time during which no action potential can be initiated regardless of stimulus intensity
What is the relative refractory period of cardiac action potential?
Period after absolute refractory period where an action potential can be elicited but only with stimulus strength larger than normal
What is the full recovery time of cardiac action potential?
The time at which a normal AP can be elicited with normal stimulus
What is tetanus? (muscle contraction)
When re-stimulation of muscle and rapid action potential firing causes a summation of contraction
How does muscle excitation differ in skeletal and cardiac muscle?
Skeletal muscle repolarises very early in the contraction phase allowing re-stimulation and tetanus
Cardiac muscle cannot be re-excited until the contraction is well underway so cannot be tetanised
What are the phases of cardiac action potential?
Phase 0= Upstroke Phase 1= Early repolarisation Phase 2= Plateau Phase 3= Repolarisation Phase 4= Resisting membrane potential (diastole)
What is required early in phase 2 which is essential for contraction?
Ca influx required to trigger Ca release from intracellular stores.
What are three dihydropyridine Ca channel antagonists which inhibit Ca influx?
1) Nifedipine
2) Nitrendipine
3) Nisoldipine
What K current is responsible for fully repolarising the cell?
IK1
It is large and flows during diastole. It stabilises the resting membrane potential reducing the risk of arrhythmias by requiring a large stimulus to excite the cells
What channel does not exist in the SA node?
IK1
What four components make up the heart’s conduction system?
1) Sinoatrial nodes (SA node)
2) Inter-nodal fibre bundles
3) Atrioventricular node (AV node)
4) Ventricular bundles (bundle branches and Purkinje fibres)
Where are gap junctions found in cardiac cells?
At intercalated discs
What causes an upward and downward deflection on an ECG?
Upward: When a wave of depolarisation is moving towards the positive electrode OR when a wave of repolarising current is moving away from the positive electrode
Downward: When a wave of depolarisation is moving away from the positive electrode
What are the waves on an ECG and what part of the cardiac cycle are they?
P wave: atrial depolarisation
QRS wave: ventricular depolarisation
T wave: Ventricular repolarisation
How many leads in an ECG?
12
How many limb leads are there on an ECG?
6
two columns on the left
How are limb leads recorded?
Four electrodes, one on each limb
Which limb is neutral in a limb lead ECG?
Right leg
What is shown on an ECG in Lead I?
Potential difference between right arm (-ve) → left arm (+ve)
Anything that goes in this direction will be positive in this lead
What is shown on an ECG in Lead II?
The most common direction of the heart
Potential difference between right arm (-ve) and left leg (+ve)
Anything that goes in this direction will be positive in this lead
What is shown on an ECG in Lead III?
Potential difference between left arm (-ve) and left leg (+ve)
How do depolarisation and repolarisation show on an ECG>
Depolarisation towards the positive electrode is upwards deflection
Depolarisation away from the positive electrode is a downwards deflection
Repolarisation is OPPOSITE
What are P and QRS expected to be in leads I and II?
Positive
What are the three augmented leads from an ECG?
aVR
aVL
aVF
What is shown on an ECG in Lead aVR?
Potential difference between an average of left arm and left leg (-ve) and the unipole of right arm (+ve)
It is augmented because it is a combination of two leads
What is shown on an ECG in Lead aVL?
Potential difference between an average of right arm and left leg (-ve) and the unipole of left arm (+ve)
It is augmented because it is a combination of two leads
What is shown on an ECG in Lead aVF?
Potential difference between an average of right arm and left arm (-ve) and the unipole of left leg (+ve)
It is augmented because it is a combination of two leads
How long is one small square on an ECG? (time)
40ms
How long is one large square on an ECG? (time)
0.2 seconds
What is a normal QRS axis?
-30° to +90°
How do you calculate QRS axis?
Two vectors 90° to each other so you cover all directions of electrical activity
e.g. QRS=I + aVF
When would limb leads show left axis deviation?
Is the QRS calculation is -30° to -90°
When would limb leads show right axis deviation?
Then the QRS calculation is +90° to +210°
What is the difference between limb lead and chest lead measurements?
They are on a completely different plane
Limb leads: frontal plane (sagital section through the body)
Chest leads: horizontal plane
Where do the chest leads go?
V1: 4th IC space, right sternal margin V2: 4th IC space, left sternal margin V3: Midway between V2 and V4 V4: 5th IC space, MCL V5: Horizontal to V4 at anterior axillary line V6: Horizontal to V4 at midaxillary line
What is the Wilson’s central terminal?
Summation pole of right arm, left arm and left leg (average potential across the body)
How are chest leads measured? What are the negative and positive poles?
Measured potential difference from Wilson’s central terminal (-ve) to the chest lead (+ve)
What is a normal duration and amplitude of the P wave in lead II?
Duration:
What is a normal PR interval?
0.12-0.20s
What is a normal QRS complex duration and amplitude?
Duration:
What is a normal Q wave duration and amplitude?
Duration:
What is a normal QT interval duration?
0.38-0.42s
What is a normal ST segment?
Should be ‘isoelectric’
What is a normal T wave?
May be inverted in III, aVR, V1 and V2 without being abnormal
What is sinus tachycardia? How would you identify it on an ECG?
Increased heart rate (normal amplification of the heart- just faster- get it when exercising)
P wave is normal
Atrial rate 100-200bpm
Regular ventricular rhythm
Ventricular rate is 100-200bpm
One P wave precedes every QRS complex
Often physiological response (hypovolaemia, sepsis, stress etc)
How do you work out heart rate from an ECG?
300 / number of large squares in between QRS complexes
What is atrial fibrillation? How would you identify it on an ECG?
Atria contract at different times (not synchronous)
Heart rate: Atria- 350-650bpm; Ventricle-slow to rapid
Rhythm: irregular
P wave: fibrillatory (fine to course)
QRS:
What is atrial flutter? How would you identify it on an ECG?
Undulating sawtoothed baseline F (flutter) waves
Atrial rate: 250-350bpm
Regular ventricular beating: 150bpm with 2:1 atrioventricular block (4:1 is also common)
What is AVNRT?
Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia
Narrow-complex tachycardia with regular QRS complexes
P waves often buried within QRS or just after QRS
Reentrant circuit within AV node
Adenosine responsive (for treatment)
What is preexcitation syndrome?
Abnormally short PR interval (
What are the three types of heart block (AV nodal block)?
1st degree: Prolonged PR interval
2nd degree: Mobitz Type I (Wenckeback), Mobitz Type II
3rd degree: Complete heart block
What is a first degree heart (AV) block?
Prolonged P wave- takes slightly longer for the atrial depolarisation to get to the ventricles
(slightly diseases AV node)
What is a second degree heart (AV) block? What are the two type?
Delay between the atrial and ventricle depolarisation and also intermittently non-conducted atrial depolarisation down to the ventricle
Mobitz type I is progressively elongated PR interval until the P-wave is non-conducted
Mobitz type II is non-conducted beats (e.g. 2:1 ratio)
What is a third degree heart (AV) block?
Absolutely no atrial impulses getting down to the ventricles, completely unrelated waves on ECG
Would present with collapse, need CPR and treatment with permanent pacemaker
What are bundle branch blocks? What are the signs visible on an ECG?
One of the two bundles that branch from the AV node has a conduction block due to disease. One side will depolarise normally and one will depolarise a lot more slowly (cell-to-cell, not through Purkinje fibres)
ECG: QRS complex widens or morphology changes
What is the characteristic morphology of the QRS complex in a right bundle branch block?
“Rabbit ears” in V1 and V2 chest leads
What is the characteristic morphology of the QRS complex in a left bundle branch block?
Deep V or W in V1 and V2 chest leads
What is a ventricular (broad complex) tachycardia?
Potentially lethal >120ms Extremely irregular rhythm that leads to drop in blood pressure, drop in cardiac output, no pulse and cardiac arrest. Leads (usually) to ventricular fibrillation Heart rate: 300-600 Absent P wave Monomorphic
Where is the reservoir of blood stored?
In the venules and veins
In what vessels does the majority of the exchange occur?
Capillaries
What is the formula for pressure difference (Darcy’s law)?
△P = Q x R
What is the formula for mean blood pressure?
= cardiac output x resistance
MBP = CO x PVR (TPR)
In what vessels is mean blood pressure the highest?
In large arteries
In what vessels does most of the pressure change take place?
In small arteries and arterioles
What are the three variables that resistance to blood flow depend upon?
1) Fluid viscosity
2) The length of the tube
3) Inner radius of the tube
How do the three variables that resistance to blood flow depend on vary in people?
Fluid viscosity: Not fixed but is mostly constant
Length of tube: Fixed
Radius of tube: Variable- the main determinant of resistance
Generally what is resistance equal to
radius⁴
At rest what is the rate of blood flow and what is the percentage blood flow to the organs?
5L/min GI tract: 20% Kidneys: 20% Brain: 15% Muscle: 15% Skin: 5% Heart: 5% Bone: 3%
During excercise what is the rate of blood flow and what is the percentage blood flow to the organs?
25L/min MUSCLE: 80% Heart: 5% Kidneys: 4% GI tract: 3% Brain: 3% Bone: 1% Skin:
What is laminar flow?
Where the flow of fluis follows a smooth path flowing in layers/streamlines; paths which never interfere with one another. The velocity of the fluid is constant at any one point
What is turbulent flow?
Irregular flow characterised by tiny whirlpool regions and associated with pathophysiological changes to the endothelial lining of the blood vessels. The velocity of the fluid is not constant at every point
Where is the flow fastest in a vessel? Why is this? What does it cause?
In the middle because adhesive forces act on the fluid in the periphery of the vessel.
Creates parabolic velocity profile
What is the shear rate?
The velocity gradient at any point
a tangent to the parabolic velocity profile
What is shear stress?
The shear rate multiplied by the viscosity of the fluid
What does high shear stress do to the physiology of endothelial cells? Where do you find high shear stress?
Found in laminar flow, promotes endothelial cell survival, alignment in the direction of flow and secretion of vasodilators and anticoagulants
What does low shear stress do to the physiology of endothelial cells? Where do you find low shear stress?
Found in turbulent flow. Promotes endothelial proliferation and apoptosis, shape change and secretion of vasoconstrictors, coagulators and platelet aggregators
What is pulse pressure?
systolic blood pressure - diastolic blood pressure
What are Korotkoff sounds?
Turbulent flow in an artery heard when taking blood pressure
How can you calculate mean blood pressure?
≈ diastolic blood pressure + 1/3 pulse pressure
Why does aortic blood pressure not fall in the same way as ventricular blood pressure?
Due to the elasticity of the aorta and large arteries which buffer the change in pulse pressure.
What is Windkessel?
The dampening effect of arteries which recoil slowly, maintaining diastolic flow.
What happens to arterial compliance as you age? What effect does this have?
Compliance decreases as you get older. This dampens the Windkessel effect which causes pulse pressure to increase
What is Laplace’s relationship?
T = P x r Tension = Pressure x r
What is the formula for circumferential stress?
σ = (P x r)/ h
= tension / wall thickness
How does Laplace’s law relate to an aneurysm?
The radius of the vessel wall increases. This means for the same internal pressure the inward force from the muscular wall must also increase, but because the muscle fibres have weakened they cannot produce the force necessary so the aneurysm continues to expand
50% of ruptured aneurysms are fatal
What is the compliance of a vessel?
The relationship between the transmural pressure and the vessel volume. It depends on vessel elasticity
How does venous compliance compare to arteriole compliance?
Ten-twenty times greater compliance in veins
How does smooth muscle contraction effect the veins?
Increasing smooth muscle contraction decreases venous volume and increases venous pressure. Can manipulate the volume stored in the veins and therefore return more blood to the heart and increase cardiac output
What effect does gravity have on hydrostatic pressure?
Varies with height but is around 100mmHg. The major effect of gravity is on the distensible veins in the legs ad the volume of blood contained in them
What is syncope?
Fainting
What occurs when counter the effect of gravity when you go from sitting to standing?
1) Activation of SNS to
- constrict venous smooth muscle
- constrict arteries (↑ resistance and maintain BP)
- ↑ heart rate + force of contraction and maintain CO
2) Myogenic venoconstriction
3) Use of muscle and respiratory ‘pumps’ to improve venous return
How does skeletal muscle pump affect blood flow?
Contraction of muscles and contract the veins which moves blood towards the heart
How does the respiratory pump affect blood pressure?
Breathing heavier pulls diaphragm down which decreases the pressure in the thoracic cavity slightly, allowing more blood to come back to the right atrium
What problems do you get if you have poor compensatory mechanisms to counter the effect of gravity?
1) Varicose veins- incompetent valves cause dilated superficial veins in the leg
2) Oedema- prolonged elevation of venous pressure (even with intact compensatory mechanisms
What is the function of the vascular endothelium? (5)
1) Vascular tone management: Secrete and metabolise vasoactive substances
2) Thrombostasis: Prevents clots forming or molecules adhering to wall
3) Absorption and secretion: Allows passive/active transport via diffusion/channels
4) Barrier: Prevents atheroma development
5) Growth: Angiogenesis; mediates cell proliferation
How is vascular function controlled? (4)
Within the circulation: - Hormones (e.g. adrenaline) - Drugs (e.g ACE inhibitor) - Shear stress In the nerves - Neurotransmitters
What are the mediators of vascular function? (5)
1) Nitric oxide (NO)
2) Prostacyclin (PGO2)
3) Thromboxane A2 (TXA2)
4) Endothelin-1 (ET-1)
5) Angiotensin II (Ang II)
What are the actions of nitric oxide? (3)
1) Smooth muscle
- relaxation
- inhibition of growth
2) Myocytes
- increased blood flow
- increased contractility
3) Platelets
- inhibits aggregation
What are the actions of prostacyclin? (3)
1) Smooth muscle
- relaxation
- inhibition of growth
2) Myocytes
- increased blood flow
- increased contractility
3) Platelets
- inhibits aggregation
What are the actions of thromboxane A2? (3)
1) Smooth muscle
- contraction
2) Myocytes
- reduced blood flow
3) Platelets
- activation
- stimulates aggregation
What are the action of endothelin-1? (2)
1) Smooth muscle
- CONTRACTION
- stimulation of growth
2) Myocytes
- reduced blood flow
- increased contractility
What are the actions of angiotensin II? (2)
1) Smooth muscle
- contraction
- stimulation of growth
2) Myocytes
- reduced blood flow
- remodelling
- fibrosis
What is the mechanism of action nitric oxide?
Inside Endothelial Cell
1) G protein couple receptor binds ligand (e.g. acetyl choline)
2) Activates phospholipase C
3) Phospholipase C converts PIP2 into
- IP3
- DAG
4) IP3 causes an influx of Ca2+ into the cytosol from ER
5) ↑ Ca2+ activates eNOS (endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase)
6) eNOS produces NO (L-arginine + O2 → L-citrulline + NO)
7) NO diffuses out of cells to vascular smooth muscle cells
8) NO upregulates guanylyl cyclase which converts GTP→cGMP
9) cGMP activates protein kinase G
10) Protein kinase G triggers relaxation
What upregulates eNOS? (2)
1) Increase in intracellular Ca2+
2) Shear stress (mechanoreceptor in vessel wall)
How is arachidonic acid produced? (2)
1) Phospholipid converted to arachidonic acid using phospholipase A2
2) DAG lipase converts DAG to arachidonic acid
How is prostacyclin produced from arachidonic acid?
1) COX1 and COX2 convert archidonic acid to PGH2 (prostaglandin H2)
2) Prostacyclin synthase converts PGH2 to prostacyclin
How is thromboxane A2 produced from arachidonic acid?
1) COX1 and COX2 convert arachidonic acid to PGH2 (prostaglandin H2)
2) Thromboxane synthase converts PGH2 to thromboxane A2
What are the actions of prostacyclin once it has been produced? (2)
1) Binds to prostacyclin receptor on vascular muscle cell
2) Travels out into lumen
What is the mechanism of action of prostacyclin when it binds to receptor on vascular smooth muscle?
1) Prostacyclin binds to receptor and activates adenylate cycles
2) AC converts ATP to cAMP
3) cAMP upregulates protein kinase A
4) Protein kinase A causes relaxation
What are the possible actions of thromboxane A2 once it has been produced?
1) Binds to receptors on platelets
2) Binds to receptors on vascular smooth muscle cell