The Heart Michael Bandstra 1

The Heart The heart is arguably one of the most important part of the circulatory system, it pushes blood through the whole body delivering nutrients and oxygen to the cells, without it you would die within minutes, it is a very necessary part of your body. The heart has 2 ventricles and 2 atriums and many tubes that carry blood to and from the lungs as well as the rest of the body. The heart is only able to pump because of the nerves sending signals to it to tell it when to compress, it receives a pulse to compress the ventricles to push blood out then another to move more blood into the ventricles. 2

The heart (continued) the blood travels in through the superior and inferior vena cava into the right atrium before moving through the atrioventricular valve into the right ventricle. It then travels out the semilunar valve into the pulmonary artery to the lungs, the oxygenated blood then travels back through the pulmonary vein into the left atrium into the other atrioventricular valve and through the ventricle and semilunar valve into the aorta and to the body. The heart pumps blood into the arteries that deliver blood to the capillaries which move nutrients to the cells then the blood is moved back so it can deliver more. 3

Myocardial Infraction (Heart Attack) Problem: this is caused by your coronary arteries being blocked by fat deposits preventing nutrients getting to the heart. The heart is malnourished and stops working causing weakness and feelings of constriction and pain, sometimes the symptoms are sometimes blatant and painful and other times they are hard to tell. Solution: the best method and most common is a coronary bypass surgery, it is where a pert of a vein is taken from elsewhere in the body, usually in the leg, and placed so blood can flow past the blockade and to the heart muscles. Sources: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000195.htm 4

Arrhythmia Problem: The electrical pulses that keep your heart pumping lose rhythm and beats irregularly, it can either be caused by problems with the nerves controlling heartbeat or caused by another problem like shortage of blood to the heart causing the heart to speed up or slow down and cause problems to the person. Solution: A lot of times it is left untreated, unless it is life threatening. If it needs to be treated you will be given a pacemaker to keep your heartbeat normal. If it isn’t life threatening it can be coped with, though you should stay away from straining one’s self. Sources: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8887.php 5