Control of the CVS Flashcards
describe the sympathetic nervous innervation
- though sympathetic post ganglionic fibers
- releases NA as well as A from the adrenal medulla (NA released as neurotransmitter and A as hormones)
- NA/A act on b1 receptors in SA node –> increases pacemaker potential –> increased HR
- NA/A will also act on b1 receptors on cardiac muscles itself and increase Ca2+ influx –> increased contractility (shorter and stronger contraction from more Ca2+ being used up)
- inotropic effect = increased contractility, chronotropic effect=HR
- a1 receptors at arterioles and veins –> constriction (reflex that solves immediate problem by increasing the MAP, long term will result in hypertension because you are constricting both the veins and arteries)
describe parasympathetic innervation
- done by post ganglionic fibers of the Vagus nerve
- release of Ach
- Ach acts on muscarinic receptors of the SA node –> decreases slope of pacemaker potential –> decreased HR
- vagus nerve does not really innervate cardiac muscles, no effect on contractility
difference btw nicotinic and muscarinic receptors
- nicotinic and muscarinic both bind to Ach, but nicotinic will become an ion channel while muscarinic will activate another G protein that will release second messengers
- nicotinic found in the NMJ, brain, para/sympathetic NS
- muscarinic found in the brain, heart, smooth muscles, parasympathetic NS only
preload vs afterload
preload: initial stretching or the cardiac myocytes prior to initial contraction
afterload: load against which the muscle tries to contact during ejection phase.
what is Starling’s law
the initial strength of cardiac myocytes contraction is proportional to the initial length of cardiac muscle fiber
2 things that affect EDV (which directly affects preload which affects the contractility)
- Venous return
2. size of the heart
3 things that directly affect stroke volume
- preload
- afterload
- contractility
effects of Barbituates
is a CNS depressant and slows down HR
- this can be compensated by increasing EDV
what is ejection fraction
SV/EDV: this tells us if something is wrong, sometimes just looking at the stroke volume is not enough
reduced ejection fraction = reduced exercise capacity
how does prolonged heart failure lead to cardiomegaly
kidneys notice that the heart is not pumping enough blood and will try to increase central blood volume by expanding the size of the heart
why does faster HR lead to decreased SV?
because the rapid filling phase of diastole would be cut down and you would end up with decreased EDV –> decreased SV
things that happen during exercise:
- increased HR (decreased para and increased sympathetic innervation)
- increased contractility (shorter and stronger, shortened systole)
- increased venous return (from venoconstriction and skeletal muscle pump and resp pump)
- TPR falls (reduced afterload)
- overall increased CO
things that affect the rising phase and falling phase (systolic and diastolic) arterial pressures?
- SV
- contractility
- Velocity of ejection: stronger ejection –> less time for aorta to absorb energy –> higher systolic pressure
- elasticity of arteries: little elasticity will high higher systolic pressure and lower diastolic pressure
- TPR: less TPR –> less resistance –> lower diastolic pressure
value of mean arterial pressure (at the arteries), and arterial pressure at the following places: arterioles, capillaries, venules/veins, RA
*this is for systemic circulation, pulmonary circulation is 1/5 of this
MAP: 90-95 mmHg arteries: drop from 95 --> 90 arterioles: drop from 90 --> 40 capillaries: 40 mmHg veins: 20 mmHg (systemic filling pressure) right atrium: 0 mmHg
where does blood flow faster?
blood flows faster in the veins and arteries than the capillaries. This is because although individually the capillaries have smaller diameter and therefore should have faster blood flow, capillaries overall have greater cross sectional area than arteries/veins.
5 external influences that can affect blood flow due to distensibility and flexibility of veins
- gravity
- skeletal muscle pump
- respiratory pump
- venomotor tone
- systemic filling pressure
affect of gravity on venous return?
there is no effect on the rate of venous return because gravity affects both arterial and venous blood. However, it decreases EDV, because there is more space at the bottom now less blood is going to return to the heart although the rate is still the same.
decreased EDV –> decreased preload, decreased contractility, decreased CO, decreased MAP
postural hypotension
sudden drop in blood pressure due to change in posture and standing up resulting in light-headedness.
In normal ppl, HR would go up in response to drop in bp for a while and then return to normal, but in ppl with postural hypotension, the HR increases more than normal
describe venomotor tone
contraction of smooth muscle surrounding veins from sympathetic innervation. This is not present around arteries
anti-clotting mechs of the endothelium of blood vessels
- stop blood coming into contact with collagen to prevent platelet aggregation
- produces chemical messengers prostacyclin and NO that will inhibit platelet aggregation
- produces tissue factor pathway inihibitor (TFPI) that stops thrombin production
- expresses thrombomodulin which binds to and inactivates thrombin
- expresses heparin which also inactivates thrombin
- secretes tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) that will be converted into enzyme plasmin that digests blood clot.