Biology: ALBG10

Topic 1: Lifestyle, health and risk Cardiovascular system

Learning objective
7. Describe the cardiac cycle (atrial systole, ventricular systole and diastole) and relate the structure and operation of the mammalian heart to its function, including the major blood vessel

The human heart (Random facts)

Blood takes about 20 second to circulate throughout the body Most heart attacks occur between the hours of 8 and 9 AM

Laughing is great for the heart. It can increase blood flow for up to 45 minutes after the laugh attack. So keep laughing Beats 101,000 times a day

Heart Structure

The heart structure

Blood travels through the heart twice before returning to the body

The double circulatory system

External view of the heart

superior vena cava aorta pulmonary vein right atrium inferior vena cava pulmonary artery

pulmonary vein
coronary artery left ventricle

right ventricle

Coronary arteries
The blood which is being pumped through the heart chambers does not in any significant way supply nutrients or exchange respiratory gasses with the cardiac tissue The myocardial muscle is far too thick to allow nutrient supply and gas exchange by simple diffusion so the heart has its own blood supply via its own vessels and this is called the coronary circulation

Coronary arteries

Internal view of the heart

The vena cava carries deoxygenated blood from the body to the right atrium
superior vena cava (transports blood from the head, neck, arms, and chest)

inferior vena cava (transports blood From the lower parts of the body)

The right atrium collects deoxygenated blood and pumps it to the right ventricle

right atrium

Atrium Thin muscular wall (blood at low pressure) Semilunar valves (stops backflow)

The right atrium collects deoxygenated blood and pumps it to the right ventricle
Tricuspid valve Made of three flaps Aka atrioventricular valve Allows blood to pass from atrium to ventricles

tricuspid valve

tendinous chord Ensure the valves are not turned inside out

The right ventricle pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs

Right ventricle Filled with blood under some pressure Ventricles contract: its muscular walls produce enough pressure to force blood out

right ventricle

The pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood to the capillary beds of the lungs

pulmonary arteries

semilunar valves

The pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium

Right pulmonary veins

Left pulmonary veins

The left atrium collects the oxygenated blood and pumps it to the left ventricle
Left atrium Thin-walled chamber Same function as right atrium It contracts to force blood out into the left ventricle

Left atrium

Bicuspid valves

The left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood to the body via the aorta
Left ventricle As the left atrium contracts, the left ventricle is filled with blood under high pressure The left ventricle then contracts to force blood into the aorta

Left ventricle

The aorta carries the oxygenated from the left ventricle to the rest of the body
Carotid arteries to neck an head

Aorta

Semilunar valves

The septum separates the left and right sides of the heart
The muscular wall of the left side of the heart is much thicker than that of the right

septum

Atrio-ventricular valves prevent backflow of blood into the atria when ventricles contract

Tricuspid valves

Bicuspid valve (mitral valve)

Tendinous chord

The semi-lunar valves prevent backflow of blood from the arteries into the ventricles

Pulmonary semi-lunar valve

Aortic semi-lunar valve

The heart structure and function

Structure
Semilunar valves

Function

Muscle walls and its thickness in the atria and ventricles

Tendinous chords (attached to AV valves)

The heart structure and function

Structure
Semilunar valves

Function
Semilunar (atrioventricular) valves link the atria to the ventricles and prevents blood flowing back into the atria The left ventricle of the heart has thicker, more muscular walls than the right ventricle, as it needs to contract powerfully to pump blood to all over the body The ventricles have thicker walls than the atria, because they have to push blood out of the heart

Muscle walls and its thickness in the atria and ventricles

Tendinous chords (attached to AV valves)

Ensure the valves are not turned inside out by the great pressure exerted when the ventricles contract

How the heart works?

The chambers of the heart alternately contract (systole) and relax (diastole) in a rhythmic cycle One complete sequence of filling and pumping blood is called a cardiac cycle (heartbeat)

During systole Cardiac muscle contract and blood is pumped out through aorta and pulmonary arteries During diastole Cardiac muscle relaxes and the heart fills with blood

The cardiac cycle

The cardiac cycle is an ongoing sequence of contraction (systole) and relaxation (diastole) of the atria and ventricles
1. Atrial systole The atria contract, forcing blood into the ventricles. 3. Diastole Elastic recoil as the heart relaxes causes low pressure in the heart, helping to refill the chambers with blood from the veins

2. Ventricular systole Contraction of the ventricles pushes blood up into the arteries.

The cardiac cycle

Phase 1: Atrial systole
Blood (low pressure) flows into the left and right atria from pulmonary veins and vena cava As it fills, the pressure pushes the AV valves open and blood enters the ventricles The atria walls contract, forcing more blood into the ventricles

The cardiac cycle

Phase 2: Ventricular systole
The ventricles contract from the base of the heart upwards, increasing the pressure in ventricles This pushes blood up and out through arteries The AV valves prevent blood from flowing back into the atria

The cardiac cycle

Phase 3: Diastole
The atria and ventricles relax during diastole Elastic recoil of the relaxing heart walls lower pressure in the arteries and ventricles Lower pressure in atria helps draw blood into the heart from the veins Blood under high pressure in arteries is drawn back into ventricles (closing semilunar valves)

The cardiac cycle

The cardiac cycle is an ongoing sequence of contraction (systole) and relaxation (diastole) of the atria and ventricles
1. Atrial systole The atria contract, forcing blood into the ventricles. 3. Diastole Elastic recoil as the heart relaxes causes low pressure in the heart, helping to refill the chambers with blood from the veins

2. Ventricular systole Contraction of the ventricles pushes blood up into the arteries.

The cardiac cycle video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGlFBzaTuoI &feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLTdgrhpDC g

The cardiac cycle (valves)

Pressure and volume changes (left side)

Pressure and volume changes (left side)

Pressure and volume changes (left side)

What affects the heart rate?

The cardiac cycle is the sequence of events in one heartbeat The heart beats faster during:

What affects the heart rate?

Drugs such as caffeine and nicotine also affects heart rate Practical 2: Effect of caffeine on the
heart rate of Daphnia

Control of the heart rate

The heart rate is controlled by the cardiovascular centre in the brain The cardiovascular centre responds to changes in your bodys requirement e.g. carbon dioxide level in blood, hormones

Blood pressure changes in the cardiovascular system

Blood pressure changes in the cardiovascular system

Aorta/ pulmonary artery
Relatively little pressure is lost as the blood passes through arteries Arteries are wide and offer relatively little resistance to the flow The elastic recoil of the artery walls means that the pulsing of the heartbeat is gradually reduced in vessels further from the heart

Blood pressure changes in the cardiovascular system

Pressure drops in arterioles

Walls of arteries contain a lot of elastin fibres
stretch to accommodate the greater volume of blood between surges, the elastic fibres return to their original length squeezing the blood

Arterioles has the least elastin fibres. Their recoil is not enough to transmit the blood pressure. Most of the pressure got lost in the arterioles.

Blood pressure changes in the cardiovascular system

Blood pressure changes in the cardiovascular system

Arterioles and capillaries
In the narrower arterioles and capillaries, a greater surface area of vessel wall is in contact with the blood
The peripheral resistance increased This slows down the flow of the blood

The blood pressure does not goes up although the vessels are very narrow because there are so many capillaries, and together they have a greater total cross-sectional area than that of the main arteries

Blood pressure
The pressure of blood in the arteries varies throughout the day. The smooth muscle in the arteries contracts in response to nervous and hormonal stimuli

Constrict Stimuli
- Lumen gets narrower - Increase blood pressure

Dilate
- Lumen gets wider - Fall in blood pressure

Blood pressure
Constricting and dilating arteries is one of the ways to control local blood pressure Changing the pressure changes the flow rate
More blood can be delivered rapidly to exercising muscles

Blood pressure
Permanent changes in the arteries e.g. narrowing due to atherosclerosis can cause permanently raised blood pressure. Why?

Blood pressure
Measuring blood pressure is an health indicator for heart and blood vessels

Blood pressure
Sphygmomanometer is used to measure blood pressure

Blood pressure

NEXT: ATHEROSCLEROSIS

QUESTIONS

Cardiovascular disease
Diseases of the heart and circulation Main cause of death in the UK It is estimated that 1 in 3 people die from cardiovascular diseases Many of these cardiovascular diseases are linked to a condition called atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis
Means hardening of the arteries and is a build-up of yellowish fatty deposits (plaque) These fatty deposits can either:
Block an artery directly Increase the chance of an artery being blocked by a blot clot (Thrombosis)

If blood supply is blocked completely (long enough)

Cells are permanently damaged Blockade in arteries that supply the heart heart attack (myocardial infraction) Blockade in arteries that supply the brain stroke Narrowing of arteries to the legs gangrene

Can be triggered by a number of factors

How atherosclerosis forms

How atherosclerosis forms

Course of events in atherosclerosis

1. Endothelial damage - Endothelium becomes damaged - Can be as a result from high blood pressure or toxins from cigarette smoke in the bloodstream 2. Inflammatory response - Damage triggers an inflammatory response - White blood cells leave blood vessels and move into the artery wall - These cells accumulate chemicals (cholesterol) - A deposit builds up (atheroma) 3. Plaque formation 4. Raised blood pressure - Calcium salts - Plaque causes and fibrous the artery to tissue builds up, become results in a hard narrower swelling (plaque) on the inner wall - More difficult for heart to - The build ups of pump blood fibrous tissue around the body causes artery increase in wall to lose blood pressure elasticity i.e. hardens - Dangerous positive feedback

Consequences of atherosclerosis
Aneurysm

Heart disease
Angina Myocardial infraction (heart attack)

Strokes

Heart disease
Angina
Plaques (from atherosclerosis) that build up slowly in coronary arteries can reduce the blood flow to the heart muscle During exercise, cardiac muscle needs to work harder as it needs more oxygen The narrowed arteries (plaqued arteries) cannot supply enough oxygenated blood and the heart muscle must resort to anaerobic respiration This results in gripping pain in the chest (Angina)

Heart disease
Heart attack
Many heart attacks are caused by blood clot as a result of atherosclerosis If a fatty plaque ruptures, cholesterol is released and this leads to rapid blood clot formation (thrombosis) The blood supply to the heart may be blocked completely The heart muscle does not receive any blood and is starved of oxygen and nutrients This can lead to a heart attack

Heart disease

Heart disease
Strokes
Interruption to the normal blood supply to the area of the brain
Bleeding from damaged capillaries Blockage of blood supply to brain (e.g. by blood clot)

If supply of interrupted
Mini-stroke

blood

is

briefly

Blockage in one of the main arteries could result in a very serious stroke that lead to death

Name: ___________s heart