The cardiac cycle Flashcards
What are the stages of the cardiac cycle?
Late diastole
Atrial Systole
Isovolumic ventricular contraction
Ventricular ejection
Isovolumic ventricular relaxation
What happens during late diastole?
Both chambers of heart are relaxed and ventricles are filling passively with blood
When pacemaker reaches threshold potential = wave of depolarisation
What happens during atrial systole?
Wave of depolarisation spreads form atria to ventricle
Atrial contraction forces a small amount of additional blood into ventricles
What happens during isovolumic ventricular contraction?
Ventricles depolarise and contract pushing mitral and tricuspid valves closed
First phase of ventricular contraction pushes AV valves closed
Does not create enough pressure to open semilunar valves
Maximum blood volume in ventricles = End-diastolic volume (EDV)
Increasing pressure due to increasing volume of blood with nowhere to go
What happens in ventricular ejection?
Ventricular pressure rises and exceeds pressure in the arteries
Semilunar valves open and blood is ejected
What happens in isovolumic ventricular relaxation?
As ventricles relax, pressure in ventricles falls
Blood flows back into cusps of semilunar valves and snaps them closed
Minimum blood volume in ventricles = End-systolic volume (ESV)
Blood flows back into atria increasing pressure in them until it exceeds pressure in ventricles pushing mitral and tricuspid valves open and blood flows into ventricles.
What is diastole?
Filling phase
What is systole?
Ejection phase
What proportion of the cardiac cycle is systole?
1/3 = 0.2s
What proportion of the cardiac cycle is diastole?
2/3 = 0.6s
How long does a whole cardiac cycle take?
0.8s = 75bpm
What happens to diastole at higher HRs?
Diastole decreases (becomes smaller proportion of cycle)
What happens to the LV at the start of the cardiac cycle?
Pressure rapidly increases in LV
When it exceeds pressure in the LA the mitral valve closes
With mitral and aortic valves closed, volume of blood in LV plateaus
What happens after rapid filling of the ventricle?
Isometric contraction phase
- Pressure continues to increase rapidly and when it exceeds pressure in the aorta the valve opens and blood is ejected from LV into the aorta
Why cant this high pressure be maintained for long?
Intracellular calcium concentration decreases
Less cross bridging and thus relaxation of the muscle
= Pressure decrease
What causes aortic valve to shut?
When pressure in the LV falls below aortic pressure
What happens int he isometric relaxation phase?
Entry and exit valves to the LV are closed
Blood volume plateaus as not moving.
What happens after isometric relaxation phase?
Pressure in LV falls below pressure in LA
Causes mitral valve to open and blood to flow from LA into LV.
Pressure in LV is very low and remains constant
What happens to the aorta when pressure in the LV exceeds aortic pressure?
Aortic valve opens
Blood is ejected from LV into aorta
Pressure in aorta matches pressure in LV closely until the aortic valve closes
What does aortic pressure peak at?
120 mmHg = systolic pressure
What is the dicrotic notch and what is it due to?
A blip splitting the falling phase in two
Due to the elastic properties of the aorta
- During systole walls of aorta expands
- During diastole blood elastic energy stored in walls push against column of blood and keep it flowing through
Because when aortic valve closes = elastic recoil