INVESTIGATORY PROJECT REPORT

ON

STUDY OF DISORDERS OF
HEART
FOR

THE PARTIAL FULILLMENT OF AISSCE 2015 PRACTICAL

EXAMINATION
BIOLOGY
Submitted by-

ATHEETH A NAIK
TO

THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY,

KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA, NO 2 HUBLI.

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Atheeth A Naik of class XI has
successfully carried out the project entitled Disorders
of Heart under my supervision. All the work related to
this has been done by the candidate himself. The
approach towards the subject has been sincere and
scientific.

Guided by

Principal

Mrs Wawathsi

Sri S.T.Metre

......................

..

Internal Examiner

Contents
Introduction
Disorders of heart
Risk factors
References

Introduction
The heart is a muscular organ in both humans and other animals,
which pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory
system. Blood provides the body with oxygen and nutrients, and also
assists in the removal of metabolic wastes. The heart is located in the
middle compartment of the mediastinum in the chest.

Heart must pump blood throughout the body on a regular and ongoing
basis. The heart muscle requires a constant supply of blood containing
nutrients and oxygen to function effectively. The delivery of oxygen and
nutrient-rich arterial blood to cardiac muscle tissue and the return of
oxygen-poor blood from this active tissue to the venous system is called
the coronary circulation.
In humans, other mammals and birds the heart is divided into four
chambers: upper left and right atria; and lower left and right ventricles.
Commonly the right atrium and ventricle are referred together as the right
heart and their left counterparts as the left heart. Fish in contrast have two
chambers, an atrium and a ventricle, while reptiles have three chambers. In
a healthy heart blood flows one way through the heart due to heart valves,
which prevent backflow. The heart is enclosed in a protective sac, the
pericardium, which also contains a small amount of fluid. The wall of the

heart is made of 3 layers- epicardium, myocardium & endocardium.

Disorders of heart
High blood pressure is strongly linked to heart disease. High blood
pressure is called hypertension. An increase in blood pressure is believed
to be the result of a narrowing of the smaller blood vessels. The elevated
pressure in the arteries makes the left ventricle work harder and, if not
treated, the left ventricle ultimately fails. This condition is common. The
result of this hypertension can be congestive heart failure. Some factors
that cause hypertension are smoking, diet, stress, and heredity. The
narrowing causes the heart to beat harder to pump the blood. A blood
pressure of 140/90 represents borderline hypertension for adults. Higher
pressure may be more serious.
Being such a complex organ the heart is prone to several cardiovascular
diseases some becoming more prevalent with ageing. Heart disease is a
major cause of death, accounting for an average of 30% of all deaths in
2008, globally. This rate varies from a lower 28% to a high 40% in highincome countries.
Coronary artery disease is also known as ischemic heart disease (IHD),
and more usually as atherosclerosis. This disease is caused by a build-up
of plaque along the inner walls of the arteries which has the effect of
narrowing the arteries and so reducing the blood flow to the heart. It is the
most common form of heart disease, the cause of heart attacks and the
most common cause of death, globally. Coronary artery bypass surgery to
improve the blood supply to the heart is often the only treatment option.
Cardiomyopathy is a noticeable deterioration of the heart muscle's ability
to contract, which can lead to heart failure. The most common form of
cardiomyopathy is dilated cardiomyopathy.

Heart failure which can also be congestive heart failure, happens when
the heart is pumping insufficiently and cannot meet the need of blood flow
required by the body. Because the heart is a double pump, each side can
fail independently of the other, resulting in heart failure of the right heart
or heart failure of the left heart either of which through causing strain in
the other side can result in the failure of the whole heart. Congestive heart
failure results in blood backing up in the systemic circulation. Edema
(swelling) of the feet, ankles and fingers is the most noticeable symptom.
Pulmonary congestion results from left heart failure. The right side of the
heart continues to propel blood to the lungs, but the left side is unable to
pump the returning blood into the systemic circulation. As blood vessels
within the lungs become swollen with blood, the pressure within them
increases, and fluid leaks from the circulation into the lung tissue, causing
pulmonary edema. If untreated, the person will suffocate because they are
drowning in their own blood. Common causes of heart failure are a heart
attack, valvular heart disease and hypertension.
Other conditions can interfere with the regular conduction of impulses
across the heart. Damage to the sinoatrial node (SA), (the pace maker of
the heart), can result in a slower heart rate. Ischemia, or an inadequate
blood supply to the heart muscle, may lead to fibrillation - a rapid,
uncoordinated shuddering of the heart muscle, a major cause of fatal heart
attacks.
Heart murmurs are abnormal or unusual heart sounds which can be
caused by an obstruction in the blood flow. These murmurs can be heard
with a stethoscope. Heart murmurs are common in young children and the
elderly even if they have perfectly healthy hearts. They may have heart
murmurs because their heart walls are thin and vibrate with the rushing
blood. However, murmurs in patients who do not fall into either of those
categories most often have a valve issue. For example, if a valve does not
close tightly enough, a swishing sound will be heard after that valve has
(supposedly) closed, as the blood flows back through the partially open

valve. Distinct sounds also can be heard when blood flows turbulently
through stenosed (narrowed) valves.
Cardiac tamponade, also known as pericardial tamponade, is the
condition of an abnormal build-up of fluid in the pericardium which can
adversely affect the function of the heart. The fluid can be removed from
the pericardial sac using a syringe in a procedure called pericardiocentesis.
Cardiac arrest is the sudden cessation of normal heart rhythm which can
include a number of pathologies such as cardiac dysrhythmia, an irregular
and ineffective heart rhythm which can be either an extremely rapid heart
beat (tachycardia) or a very slow one (brachycardia), which prevents the
heart from effectively pumping blood, and asystole, which is the cessation
of heart rhythm entirely.
Exercise results in the addition of protein myofilaments and this can result
in hypertrophy where the size of individual cells are increased but not
their number.This is a condition known as athletic heart syndrome. The
hearts of athletes can pump more efficiently at lower heart rates. However,
enlarged hearts can have a pathological cause which can result in a heart
of 1000 g (2 lb) in mass. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is one such cause.
The cause of an abnormally enlarged heart muscle is unknown, but the
condition is often undiagnosed and can cause sudden death in young
athletes.
Carditis is inflammation of the heart; this can be specific to regions as in
pericarditis, myocarditis, and endocarditis or it can be of the whole heart
known as pancarditis.
A rare type of cancer can form in the mesothelium of the pericardium
known as a mesothelioma.
Angiogenesis represents a therapeutic target for cardiovascular disease.
Rheumatic heart disease is due to having rheumatic fever. Rheumatic
fever is a disease caused by strep bacteria that can result in inflammation

of the heart valves and muscle tissue. This swelling can damage and scar
the heart valves. The damage may disturb the flow of blood through the
heart and cause rheumatic heart disease in later years. The first sign of
strep infection is often a sore throat. Treating the initial strep infection
with antibiotics prevents heart damage from developing. The infection can
lead to destruction of the heart valves.
To sustain life, the heart must pump blood throughout the body on a
regular and ongoing basis. The heart muscle requires a constant supply of
blood containing nutrients and oxygen to function effectively. The
delivery of oxygen and nutrient-rich arterial blood to cardiac muscle tissue
and the return of oxygen-poor blood from this active tissue to the venous
system is called the coronary circulation. Coronary heart disease results
from the narrowing of arteries that nourish the heart. If the coronary
arteries are healthy, then the linings remain smooth and clear carrying a
steady stream of blood to the heart. If the inner walls become rough and
thick deposits have formed. The formed deposits contain cholesterol,
connective tissue and smooth muscle cells. These form a process called
atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. An artery can become
clogged completely and when this happens the clogged coronary arteries
cut off the blood supply to the heart. A heart attack will occur after the
blood supply to the heart ends as heart muscle dies. Angina pectoris is a
term used to describe the severe chest pain that occurs when the
myocardium is deprived of adequate oxygen. It is often a warning that the
coronary arteries are no longer able to supply enough blood and oxygen to
the heart muscle. A temporary lack of oxygen in the heart muscle causes a
feeling of suffocation and chest pain. Angina is a symptom rather than a
disease. Attacks of angina usually occur during periods of heavy physical
or emotional stress. They generally last only as long as the stress

continues. People who suffer from angina may never have heart attacks.
Angina does indicate that there is some blockage in the coronary arteries.

Risk factors
There are several risk factors for heart diseases: age, gender, tobacco use,
physical inactivity, excessive alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet,
obesity, family history of cardiovascular disease, raised blood pressure
(hypertension), raised blood sugar (diabetes mellitus), raised blood
cholesterol (hyperlipidemia), psychosocial factors, poverty and low
educational status, and air pollution. While the individual contribution of
each risk factor varies between different communities or ethnic groups the
overall contribution of these risk factors is very consistent. Some of these
risk factors, such as age, gender or family history, are immutable;
however, many important cardiovascular risk factors are modifiable by
lifestyle change, social change, drug treatment and prevention of
hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes.
Age
Calcified heart of an older woman with cardiomegaly.
Age is by far the most important risk factor in developing cardiovascular
or heart diseases, with approximately a tripling of risk with each decade of
life. It is estimated that 82 percent of people who die of coronary heart
disease are 65 and older. At the same time, the risk of stroke doubles every
decade after age 55.
Multiple explanations have been proposed to explain why age increases
the risk of cardiovascular/heart diseases. One of them is related to serum
cholesterol level. In most populations, the serum total cholesterol level

increases as age increases. In men, this increase levels off around age 45 to
50 years.
Unhealthy diet

High dietary intakes of saturated fat, trans-fats and salt, and low intake of
fruits, vegetables and fish are linked to cardiovascular risk, although
whether all these associations are causal is disputed. The World Health
Organization attributes approximately 1.7 million deaths worldwide to low
fruit and vegetable consumption. The amount of dietary salt consumed is
also an important determinant of blood pressure levels and overall
cardiovascular risk. Frequent consumption of high-energy foods, such as
processed foods that are high in fats and sugars, promotes obesity and may
increase cardiovascular risk. High trans-fat intake has adverse effects on
blood lipids and circulating inflammatory markers, and elimination of
trans-fat from diets has been widely advocated. There is evidence that
higher consumption of sugar is associated with higher blood pressure and
unfavorable blood lipids, and sugar intake also increases the risk of
diabetes mellitus. High consumption of processed meats is associated with
an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, possibly in part due to
increased dietary salt intake.

Calcified heart of aged women with cardiomegaly.()

References
I have referred the following books
and websites:www.google.com
www.wikipedia.org
http://www.abronexports.com
class XI ncert textbook

Experts textbook