Heart and Lung Physiology Flashcards
What is the function of the Cardiovascular system?
Transport mechanism:
- Oxygen
- Nutrients - glucose, electrolytes
- Antibodies / white blood cells to sites of infection
- Hormones
- Waste products of metabolism
- Thermoregulation
What are the cells making up the heart and their function?
Conducting Cells
- Specialised cells co-ordinate heart beat
Contractile cells
- Myocardium (bulk of the heart) which generates pressure to move blood
Describe the electrical activity of the cells of the heart?
- Polarised cell – intracellular negative. Unstimulated-resting potential.
- Depolarised cell – influx of positive ions, stimulated-action potential. This leads to Ca2+ from ECF and sarcoplasmic reticulum. which causes contraction.
Which particular ions is the heart sensitive to?
Very sensitive to changes in:
- Calcium concentration
- Potassium concentration.
What determines the End Diastolic Volume?
EDV determined by:
- Filling time – heart rate
- Venous return – amount of blood returned to heart. Also effects HR – atrial reflex.
How is End Systolic Volume determined?
- Preload – amount of blood present in the heart chamber, i.e. the EDV. More stretch, greater force of contraction.
- Contractility - the strength of the cardiac contraction.
- Afterload - the pressure against which the heart must work, the forces that impede the flow of blood out of the heart i.e. vascular resistance. Primarily composed of the pressure in the peripheral vasculature, the compliance of the aorta, and the mass and viscosity of the blood
How is the the heart regulated?
Cardiovascular centre located in medulla oblongata regulates the heart through the autonomic nervous system
- Acts to regulates blood pressure.
Which factors are changed to alter the blood pressure?
- Heart rate
- Stroke volume
- Contractibility
- Afterload / Vascular resistance to blood flow through vasodilation / vasoconstriction
How does the Sympathetic nervous system affect BP?
Increase BP
- Increases heart rate (SA, AV nodes)
- Ventricles contractility
- Vasoconstriction
How does the parasympathetic affect the blood pressure?
Decrease BP
- Decreases heart rate (SA & AV nodes)
- Vasodilation
What is the structure for the heart?
Inside to Outside
- Heart Chamber
- Endocardium
- Myocardium
- Epicardium
- Pericardial Cavity
- Pericardium (Visceral and Parietal layer)
What is the arterial and venous structure?
Arteries and Venous
- Tunica intima
- Tunica media
- Tunica externae
How does electrical activity travel within the heart?
- Sinoatrial Node
- Atrioventricular node
- Bundle of His
- Left and Right bundle branches
- Apex
- Purkinje Fibres
What is the sequence of the cardiac cycle?
- Atrial Contraction begins
- Atria eject blood into the ventricles
- Atrial systole and AV valves close
- Isovolumetric ventricular contraction
- Ventricular ejection occurs
- Semilunar valves closes
- Isovolumetric relaxation occurs
- AV valves open and passive ventricular filling occurs
Which receptors act to regulate the heart?
Baroreceptors: They detect arterial BP through the stretch recpetors (carotid sinus / aortic arch / right atrium)
Chemoreceptors: Detect O2 & CO2 levels (carotid bodies and aortic bodies located near the carotid sinus and aortic arch)
Which hormones act to increase the Blood Pressure?
- RAAS: Increased sodium/water retention & angiotensin II to increase Preload and cause vasoconstriction to increase Afterload
- ADH: Increase water retention to increase Preload
- Epinephrine / Norepinephrine: increase heart rate, vasoconstriction to increase Afterload
- Thyroxine
Which hormones act to decrease BP?
- ANP: Causes Vasodilation and Inhibits RAAS.
- Nitric oxide: Causes Vasodilation
How does potassium affect the heart?
Potassium - affects SA node and HR
- Hyperkalaemia which can cause weak irregular contractions
- Hypokalaemia which can decrease HR