Chapter 7

Be Not Still, My Beating Heart!
 Heart : most durable muscle
 Sudden cardiac arrest treatment:
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
• Automated external defibrillator (AED)

Focus: The cardiovascular system is built to rapidly transport blood to every living cell in the body.

The Heart and Blood Vessels Make up the Cardiovascular System
 Cardiovascular system
• Heart – main pumping organ
• Blood vessels types:
• Arteries
• Arterioles
• Capil laries
• Capillary beds
• Venules
• Veins

The Heart and Blood Vessels Make Up the Cardiovascular System

Animation: Major human blood vessels

The Cardiovascular System Helps
Maintain Favorable Operating Conditions

Blood Circulation Is Essential to Maintain
Homeostasis
 Major role in homeostasis
• brings oxygen, nutrients, and hormones to cells
• removes waste products from cells and excess heat

The Cardiovascular System Is Linked to the Lymphatic System
 Lymphatic system:
• Pick up excess extracellular fluid and usable substances
• Return them to the cardiovascular system

Focus: In a lifetime of 70 years, the human heart beats some 2.5 billion times.
This durable pump is the centerpiece of the cardiovascular system.

The Heart
Located in the center of your chest
 Composed of myocardium
• Cardiac muscular middle layer
 Protected by the pericardium
• Outermost layer
 Smooth lining of endocardium
• Inner layer

The Heart Is Divided into Right and
Left Halves
KNOW THIS DIAGRAM!

Animation: The human heart

The Heart Has Two Halves and Four Chambers
 Septum: thick wall divides heart in half
 Chambers of the heart:
• Left and Right Atrium
• Left and Right Ventricle
 Valves:
• Atrioventricular:
• Tricuspid (right side) and bicuspid (left side)
• Semilunar
 Coronary arteries: branch off of the aorta
• Delivers blood & oxygen to the heart

The Heart Is Divided into Right and
Left Halves

The Heart Itself Is Served by Coronary
Arteries and Veins

In a Heartbeat, the Heart’s Chambers
Contract, Then Relax
 Heartbeat : one cycle of contraction and relaxation of the heart chambers
 Cardiac cycle
• Systole: contraction
• Diastole: period of time when the heart fills with blood after systole
• Relaxation
• “Lub-dup” sound
 Cardiac output
• Every 60 seconds ~5 liters/ventricle

The Heart Beats in a Sequence Called the
Cardiac Cycle

Animation: Cardiac cycle

Focus: Each half of the heart pumps blood.
The two side-by-side pumps are the basis of two cardiovascular circuits through the body, each with its own set of arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins.

In the Pulmonary Circuit , Blood Picks Up
Oxygen in the Lungs
 Pulmonary Circuit:
• Carries oxygen-depleted blood away from the heart, to the lungs, and returns oxygenated blood back to the heart.
• Lungs and heart only
• Pulmonary arteries: deoxygenated blood to lungs
• Pulmonary veins: oxygenated blood to heart

Each Half of the Heart Pumps Blood in a
Different Circuit

In the Systemic Circuit , Blood Travels to and from Tissues
 Systemic circuit
• Oxygenated blood pumped by left side of heart moves through body and returns to left atrium
• Heart and the rest of the body
 Aorta
• Main vessel out of the left ventricle
• Major arteries branch off this
 Superior vena cava
• Main route of blood from head to heart
 Inferior vena cava
• Major route of blood from lower body to heart

Each Half of the Heart Pumps Blood in a
Different Circuit

Animation: Human blood circulation

Blood from the Digestive Tract Detours to the Liver for Filtration .

Focus: Unlike skeletal muscle, which contracts only when orders arrive from the nervous system, cardiac muscle contracts —and the heart beats – spontaneously .

Electrical Signals from “ Pacemaker ”
Cells Drive the Heart’s Contractions
 Cardiac muscle have:
• Intercalated discs: communication junctions between cardiac muscle cells
• Ensures rapid electrical conduction through heart
 Cardiac conduction system: independent of the nervous system
• Sinoatrial (SA) node : cardiac pacemaker
• Atrioventricular (AV) node:

Intercalated Discs Form Communication
Junctions between Cardiac Muscle Cells

The Cardiac Conduction System

Animation: Cardiac conduction

Focus: Heart contractions generate blood pressure, which changes as blood moves through the cardiovascular system.

Blood Exerts Pressure against the Walls of Blood Vessels
 Blood pressure : fluid pressure that blood exerts against vessel walls
 Systolic (ventricular contraction) and diastolic pressure (ventricular relaxation) :
• Normal: 120/80
 Hypertension
• Chronically elevated blood pressure
 Hypotension
• Abnormally low blood pressure

Animation: Measuring blood pressure

Cholesterol types
 High Density Lipoproteins (HDL)
• remove cholesterol from within arteries
• transport it back to the liver for excretion or reutilization
• they are seen as "good" lipoproteins
 Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL)
• carry cholesterol in the blood and around the body, for use by cells
• commonly referred to as "bad cholesterol" due to the link between high LDL levels and cardiovascular disease

Blood Pressure Values (mm of Hg)

A Variety of Factors May Cause
Hypertension
Is this you?

Focus: As with all body parts, structure is key to the functions of blood vessels.
All our vessels transport blood, but there are important differences in how different kinds manage blood flow and blood pressure.

Arteries Are Large Blood Pipelines
 Outer layer:
• Mainly collagen
 Middle layer:
• Smooth muscle and elastin
 Innermost layer:
• Thin sheet of endothelium
Carries oxygenated blood away from heart

Blood Pressure Changes as Blood Flows through the Cardiovascular System
Take pulse from arteries because of the strong pressure

Arterioles Are Control Points for Blood Flow
 Wall built of smooth muscle rings over elastic tissue
• Dilates when smooth muscle relaxes
• Constricts when smooth muscle contracts
 Offer more resistance to blood flow than other vessels do

Capillaries Are Specialized for Diffusion
 Thinnest wall of any blood vessel!
• Single layer of flat endothelium
 Site of diffusion of gases, nutrients, and wastes
 Extensive!
• 62,000 miles long
 Blood pressure drops slowly as blood flows through

Venules and Veins Return Blood to the Heart
 Venules
• Function somewhat like capillaries
 Veins
• Large diameters and low-resistance transport of blood back to the heart
• Outer layer of connective tissue
• Middle layer of smooth muscle and elastic fibers
• Inner layer of endothelium
• Valves prevent backflow of blood
• varicose veins : valves don’t function properly

Contracting Skeletal Muscles Can
Increase Fluid Pressure in a Vein

Animation: Vein function

Animation: Vessel anatomy

Vessels Help Control Blood Pressure
 Medulla
• Monitors resting blood pressure
• Vasodilation
• Vasoconstriction
 Baroreceptor reflex
• Keeps blood pressure within normal limits in the face of sudden changes
• Baroreceptors found in the carotid arteries in the neck and in the arch of the aorta

Focus: Blood enters the systemic circulation moving swiftly in the aorta, but this speed has to slow in order for substances to move into and out of the bloodstream.

A Vast Network of Capillaries Brings
Blood Close to Nearly All Body Cells
 40 billion capillaries
 Every cell is a diffusible distance away from a capillary
 Blood flow is slowest in the capillaries

Many Substances Enter and Leave
Capillaries by Diffusion
 Diffusion of fluids and solutes across the porous capillary walls
• Blood flows through the capillaries very slowly to allow this exchange

Some of the Substances Pass through
Pores in Capillary Walls
 Fluid movement in capillaries:
• Bulk flow
• Role of lymphatic vessels
• Captures excess fluid from circulatory system
 Help maintain blood pressure

Animation: Capillary forces

Blood in Capillaries Flows Onward to Venules
 Capillaries branch into capillary beds
 Precapillary sphincter
• Ring of smooth muscle
• Regulates the flow of blood into the capillary

Major Risk Factors for
Cardiovascular Disease

Arteries Can Clog or Weaken
 Atherosclerosis
• fatty material collects along the walls of arteries.
This fatty material thickens, hardens (forms calcium deposits), and may eventually block the arteries.
• All adults should keep their LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels below 130-160 mg/dL.

Plaques and Blood Clots May Clog Arteries
Risk factors for atherosclerosis include:
Diabetes
Heavy alcohol use
High blood pressure
High blood cholesterol levels
High-fat diet
Increasing age
Obesity
Personal or family history of heart disease
Smoking

Arteries Can Clog or Weaken
 Coronary arteries
• Narrow and vulnerable to clogging by plaques
• Angina pectoris
• medical term for chest pain or discomfort due to coronary heart disease
• “Plaque-busting” drugs: statins
• Ways to repair coronary blockage:
• Coronary bypass
• Laser angioplasty
• Balloon angioplasty
• Aneurysm

Heart Damage Can Lead to Heart Attack and Heart Failure
 Heart attack
• Damage or death to cardiac muscle
• Warning signs:
• Chest discomfort
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body
• Shortness of breath
• cold sweat, nausea, or light-headedness
• Risk factors
 Heart Failure
• Weak heart and ineffective pump

Arrhythmias Are Abnormal Heart
Rhythms
 Electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Recording of the electrical activity of the cardiac cycle
 Arrhythmias: irregular heart rhythms
• Bradycardia : slower than normal heart rate
• Tachycardia: faster than normal heart rate
• Ventricular fibrillation: rapid, erratic electrical impulses

Animation: Examples of ECGs

Focus: Infections may seriously damage the heart.

 Myocarditis : is an inflammation of the myocardium, the middle layer of the heart wall
 various causes
Bacterial
Alcohol abuse
Drug abuse

Heart Damage May Be a Complication of
Lyme Disease

Is There Such a Thing as Heart Cancer?
 Rarely the first site for cancer
 Can be a secondary site
 Chemotherapy and/or radiation can damage the heart and blood vessels

Inborn Heart Defects Are Fairly Common
 “Blue babies”
 Heart does not pump blood efficiently
 How is the problem corrected?