B4.3 The heart Flashcards
What supplies the heart with oxygen?
Coronary arteries - which supply oxygen for the muscles in order for them to respire and provide the energy for the heart ocontract
Where does blood enter into your heart from?
The top chambers called the atria
What does the vena cava carry?
Blood coming in from your right atrium from the vena cava is deoxygenated blood
What does the pulmonary vein do?
Brings oxygenated blood into your lungs in the left atrium
What does the right ventricle do?
Forces deoxygenated blood to the pulmonary artery
What does the left ventricle do?
Pumps oxygenated blood around the body in a big artery called the aorta
Where does the noise of your heartbeat come from?
Come from the valves of the heart closing to prevent the blood flowing backwards
Why is the muscles wall of the left ventricle thicker than the right?
Allows the left ventricle to develop the pressure needed to force blood through the arterial system all over your body
Why does the right ventricle have a less thick wall?
Otherwise the high pressure blood moving through the pulmonary arteries would damage the delicate capillary network where gas exchange would take place
What is coronary heart disease?
The coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle become narrow
What is a common cause of coronary heart disease?
A buildup of fatty material on the lining of the vessels
What is a stent?
A metal mesh is placed in the artery. A tiny ballow is inflated to open up the blood vessel and the stent at the same time
What happens after the balloon in the stent inflates?
It deflates and removed but the stent remains in the same place - holding the blood vessel open
Why do some stents release drugs?
To prevent blood clotting - but some studies suggest that the benefits do not justify the additional expenses
What is bypass surgery?
Where doctors replace the narrow or blocked coronary artery with bits of veins from other parts of the body
