The Heart

L.O:

 Describe the one-way flow of the blood around the body

 Describe the heart as a pump for the flow of blood and the role of valves to permit
only one-way flow
 Describe the single circulation of a fish
 Describe the double circulation of a mammal and explain its advantages.
 Describe 4 chambers of the heart and locate the major blood vessels and valves
associated with the heart.
 State the sequence of events that take place during one heart-beat.
 State that blood is pumped away from the heart into the arteries and returns to the
heart in veins.
 Explain the importance of the septum in separating oxygenated and deoxygenated
blood.
 Locate and name the valves in the heart
 Explain why the walls of the ventricles are thicker than those of the atria and why is
the left ventricle much thicker than the right one.
 State the activity in the heart can be monitored by ECG, taking pulse rate and listening
to the sounds of valves closing.
 Investigate the state and effect of physical activity on the pulse rate
 Explain the effect of physical activity on the heart rate
 Describe the nature of CHD
 State the possible causes of CHD and preventative measures of CHD
 Describe the ways in which CHD may be treated
Transport in animals
Circulatory System
 Heart : Pump that circulates blood to all body cells through blood vessels.
Why are cells very close to capillaries?
To receive a good supply of oxygen and nutrients from these capillaries
and can have their carbon dioxide and other waste products removed
efficiently
Why is this bad to deliver blood under high pressure to capillaries?
Capillaries are delicate and can be damaged if it receives blood under
high pressure.
How does are body prevent this?
Small muscular blood vessels known as arterioles reduce the pressure
before the blood enters the capillaries.
How does our body make sure blood doesn’t flow backwards away from the
heart?
There are semi lunar valves in veins to make sure blood doesn’t flow
backwards away from the heart.
What would have happened if it flowed backwards?
The veins would swell and blood wont be circulated properly.
Types of blood:
Oxygenated blood: Blood in left side of heart. Is oxygenated because its blood
contains oxygen which came from the lung.
Deoxygenated blood: Blood in right side of heart. Is deoxygenated because
oxygen is taken up by body cells that need oxygen for respiration to release
energy and do work.

Types of circulation:
Single: Means the blood will pass through the heart once during one complete
circuit (E.g in Fish)
Why do fish have a single circulation?
Because blood flows through the heart once during a complete circuit.
Blood from the organs flows into the heart from veins. This blood is
deoxygenated. So, the heart pumps blood into an artery that takes it to
the gills to be oxygenated. The blood flows on from the gills in arteries to
the body organs.
Double Circulation: Means the blood will pass through the heart twice during
one complete circuit (E.g in humans and mammals)
Advantage of double circulation:
 The septum helps separate oxygenated blood and deoxygenated blood
from mixing with each other.
 Ensure efficient oxygen supply to all body cells and tissue because the
blood is pumped under high blood pressure. Lungs receive blood under
low blood pressure because the alveoli and blood capillaries are delicate
to avoid bursting.
Why is blood taken to the lungs under low blood
pressure?
Because the pressure required to force blood to
the lungs isn’t very high since there is little
resistance flow in the lungs as they are spongy
tissue filled with air. And because alveoli and
capillaries in the lung are very delicate and can
be damaged easily if receiving blood under high
pressure.
Why is blood taken to body cells under high pressure
and why is the left ventricle thicker than the right?
The left ventricle has to pump blood around all
body cells and has to overcome more resistance
to flow.
Blood circulation
Left side Right side
What: Oxygenated blood What: Deoxygenated blood
From: Lungs From: All body cells
To: Left atrium To: Right atrium
Through: Pulmonary vein Through: Vena cava vein
What: Oxygenated blood What: Deoxygenated blood
From: Left atrium From: Right atrium
To: Left ventricle To: Right ventricle
Through: Bicuspid valve (Mitral valve) Through: Tricuspid valve
What: Oxygenated blood What: Deoxygenated blood
From: Left ventricle From: Right ventricle
To: All body cells for aerobic To: Lungs
respiration to release energy Through: Pulmonary artery
Through: Aorta artery

Septum: Wall of tissue that prevents deoxygenated blood on the right side from
mixing with oxygenated blood on the left side.

Why do the ventricles have much more muscular walls than the atria?
Because they have to pump the blood much further than the atria. Either to the
lungs or tissues in the body. The atria just receive blood and transport it to the
ventricle.
Cardiac cycle
 Atrial Systole (Atria contracting): Both atria contract. This means the
blood pressure of the atria increases and is higher than the blood
pressure in the ventricle. This forces the Atrioventricular valves to open to
allow the blood to pass from the atria to the ventricles.

 Ventricular systole (Ventricles contracting

 Diastole (Relaxation of cardiac muscles): Cardiac muscles relax causing the

blood pressure to decreases. This makes the semi lunar valves close to
prevent backflow from the arteries to the
ventricles.

If one pair relaxes the other pair contracts.

Atrial systole : Ventricular Diastole
Ventricular systole: Atrial Diastole
Types of valves:
Function in general: Prevents backflow of the blood. Makes the blood flow
move in one direction and not vice versa.

 Atrioventricular valve (Between up and down)

Bicuspid valve (Mitral valve) : Between the left atrium and left ventricle.
Bi means 2 flaps. Prevents back flow of the blood flow from the left
ventricle to the left atrium.
Tricuspid valve: Between the right atrium and right ventricle. Tri means 3
flaps. Prevents back flow of the blood flow from the right ventricle to the
right atrium.

 Semi lunar valves

Aortic valve: At the base of the aorta prevents back flow of blood from
the aorta to the left ventricle.
Pulmonic valve: At the base of the pulmonary artery/trunk. Prevents the
backflow of blood from pulmonary artery to the right ventricle.

Who pumps and who receives and who transports in and out:
Right atrium chamber receives blood through the superior and inferior vena
cava vein while the right ventricle pump out blood through the pulmonary
artery. To be transported to the lungs to be oxygenated.
Left atrium receives blood from the pulmonary vein and the right receives from
the vena cava

All Arteries except the Pulmonary arteries and umbilical artery: Carry
oxygenated blood and transport it around the body to our cells.
All Veins except the Pulmonary vein and umbilical vein: Carry deoxygenated
blood and transport it back to our heart.
Adaptation:
 Septum(between the left and right side of the heart): Helps prevent the
mixing of oxygenated blood in the left side of the heart with the
deoxygenated blood in the right side of the heart.
 Our heart muscle (cardiac muscle) never gets fatigued or tired so it is the
strongest muscle.
 Coronary arteries: Help supply the cardiac muscle with nutrients and
oxygen.
Coronary Arteries:
Function:
Supply heart muscles with nutrients and oxygen to release energy when doing
aerobic respiration. This energy is needed to allow the heart to contract and
relax all time.

Slowing the blood flow

Features of a healthy artery:
Smooth lining / Letting blood flow easily
Coronary heart disease. CHD.
Types of CHD.
Narrowing of the arteries:
 Cholesterol deposits on the endothelium lining in the walls of coronary
arteries. This leads to the narrowing of the lumen of the coronary artery.
This increases blood pressure and therfore makes the artery less elastic
and more stiff. The narrowing also causes less blood flow to the cardiac
muscles which means there will be less nutrients and oxygen supplied to
the cardiac muscles. This is called atherosclerosis.
Things narrowing can cause:
Angina: Chest pain especially if activity or emotion makes the heart work
harder. It is caused by the heart muscles not getting enough oxygen.
Blockage of the arteries:
 Artery walls can become rough and this can form a blood clot inside the
coronary artery (this is called coronary thrombosis) that completely
blocks it. This means that there will be no blood flow. This means that the
cardiac muscle will be deprived of oxygen and nutrients which means that
the cardiac muscle wont be able to aerobically respire which means it
wont be able to obtain energy that allows it to contract. This leads to the
heart stopping from beating. This is a heart attack or a cardiac arrest.
Risk factors of CHD
 Smoking
 Bad unhealthy diet
 Obesity
 Stress
 Genetic diseases (inherited)
 Gender
 Age
 High blood pressure or called hypertension (can be caused by stress)
 High blood cholesterol levels
 People with diabetes
 People who drink alcohol
Smoking:
 Nicotine (TO DO WITH HEART):
Nicotine stimulates vasoconstriction (narrowing of arterioles). This
increases blood pressure which is a risk factor for CHD.
It also makes you addicted to smoking which can
 Tar (TO DO WITH LUNGS ONLY):
This is a carcinogenic substance which causes lung cancer.
It paralyses ur cilia which prevents the sweeping of mucus and dust
and bacteria out of the trachea.
This increases the production of mucus in goblet cells. Since the cilia
don’t work well this causes the accumulation of mucus inside the
respiratory tract. Too much mucus can trap a lot of bacteria and if it
isn’t swept this can cause many lung infections.

 Carbon monoxide:
Haemoglobin normally has a higher affinity for CO. When HB binds with CO this
makes Carboxy haemoglobin. This type of HB reduces oxygen supply to body
cells.
(If this happened to a pregnant women her foetus or embryo will also have less
oxygen supply and hence this might stunt the foetus’s growth. It can also cause
pre mature birth. It will also lead to the baby having less weight at birth. Also
smoking can lead to the baby having deformation.)

Bad dieting of unhealthy eating

 High salt levels cause high blood pressure
 High saturated fats (animal fats like butter, margarine, full fat milk).
Those contain high cholesterol levels which are risk factors.
Obesity
When your over weight this increases your chances of getting CHD.
Stress
Severe stress for a long time increases your blood pressure.
Age
The older you are the higher your risk of CHD
Gender
Men have a higher chance of getting a CHD than women due to women having a
lot more oestrogen than us men that have high levels of testosterone.

Blood Cholesterol Levels.

HDL (High density lipoprotein): Good cholesterol (You should have more of this)
LDL (Low density lipoprotein): Bad cholesterol (You need less of this because
high levels of this means you get a higher risk of CHD)
PREVENTION of CHD
Those are modified risk factors. Or we can say change in life style
 Stop smoking
 Avoid stress
 Do regular exercise: This keeps you fit and prevents excessive weight gain.
Decreases blood pressure. Makes you fell good and exhilarated because
you release endorphins that change your mood positively.
 Don’t over eat in fat. Especially in very bad highly saturated fats.
 Less salt in diet
 Less alcohol
Not modified risk factors (Means you cant change them) Those can’t be
prevented.
 Age
 Gender
 Genes
TREATMENT of CHD
There are 2 types
Medicinally (Drugs):
 Antihypertensive drugs (Diuretic which lowers B.P)
 Drugs that lower your cholesterol level (Statins which lowers cholesterol
levels).
Side effects: Liver damage and kidney damage
 Also, there are platelets inhibitory drugs (Aspirin which decreases the risk
of blood clotting inside blood vessels).
Side effect: Can cause internal bleeding in the stomach.
Surgical Treatment of CHD:
Angioplasty:
- A catheter with a deflated balloon is attached to it.
- It is then inserted into the body and navigated to the blocked coronary artery.
- The balloon is then inflated which expands the narrowed artery lumen by pushing the clots
aside.
- After normal blood flow has been restored, the balloon is deflated and then removed from the
body.

Stent:
- A stainless steel spring is inserted at the site of the blockage in the coronary artery.
- The spring is tihen expanded to increase the lumen of the artery.
- This prevents narrowing of the lumen by clots.

By-pass Surgery:
- An artery from another part of the body (such as the leg) is taken.
- Then it replaced the blocked section fo the coronary artery.

Surgical Treatment of Heart itself:

 Heart transplantation: When all your heart is completely damaged a
donor, who is about to die allows the donation of his heart to someone.
You need to make sure that a tissue typing test takes place
Problems with heart transplants
 Shortage in suitable donors
 Risk of rejection. Your immune system might identify the transplanted
organ as a foreign.
 Risk of immune suppressive drugs which can be dangerous if an actual
pathogen enters your blood.
Heart rate and Heartbeat and Pulse. (Extra)
Heartbeat: Contraction of heart then relaxing. B.P Increases then decreases.
Systole and Diastole happening.
Heart rate: Number of heart beats per minute or 60 seconds.
Normal BPM for someone: 75 bpm
 If resting it is lower but when exercising it is higher.
 Reason for heart sounds: Valves in heart closing.
ECG (Electro cardio gram)
Electrodes are placed on the person’s chest. This measures the electrical activity
in the heart and is then recorded.
The control of the heart beat depends on electrical activity. A variety of heart
disorders can produce irregularities in this activity.

How to read an ECG

P wave: Atria contracting
QRS Spike: Contraction of ventricles.
T wave: Ventricles Relaxing
To measure someone’s heart rate, we count num of beats and times it by 6
Fibrillation: Ventricles contracting too
much and rarely relaxing.
Heart block: Barley any Spikes. Shows
that ventricles aren’t contracting well
Heart Sounds
Our heart valves respond to pressure changes during a cardiac cycle. The noise
of the blood when the valves open and close make the sound (Lub-Dub).
Lub
Pressure of blood against atrioventricular valves causes them to shut preventing
backflow of blood to the atria. This makes the Lub sound 😊
Dub
During the diastole phase. The ventricles relax. The blood under high pressure in
the arteries causes the semi lunar valves to shut, preventing the backflow of
blood to ventricles. This makes the Dub sound.

We hear those sounds using a stethoscope.

(Required to know)
Measuring someone’s pulse rate:
We find a pulsating artery near the surface. Then we record the number of heart
beats or pulses per minute. Or we can use a pulse meter which is digital and
much more accurate.
Locations: Neck or Wrist.
What does pulse mean: Expansion or relaxation in your artery. This is caused by
the heart pushing the blood through the arteries.
Pulse and heart rate are measured the same way.
How does that work?
Each time the left ventricle beats, a wave passes along the arteries which you
can feel. This is the pulse.

The fitter you are the lower your resting pulse rate is. The same volume of
blood is being passed out of the heart per minute but with fewer heart beats.
The effect of exercise on your heart rate
 Increases heart rate
Explain why exercise increases your heart rate?
More energy is needed when exercising for contraction of muscles. So, the rate
of aerobic respiration increases and so does the heart rate to pump more blood
to muscles so that then you can deliver more oxygen and nutrients and to
remove CO2 from aerobic respiration more quickly.

State what happens to pulse rate when a person exercises and why?
It increases because during exercise your muscles need more energy from
respiration to contract. So, the heart beats faster (so more left ventricle
contraction) and arteries supplying muscles dilate. This increases blood flow to
muscles to supply more oxygen and glucose and to remove more CO2. This will
mean that more waves will pass each time the left ventricle contracts.

Why might someone’s pulse rate be affected by certain risk factors?

If someone is very lazy and has a bad diet his resting pulse rate is probably going
to be higher than normal. This means his heart will need to beat faster and
more to supply the same volume of blood as the average person.
If someone is active and is on a good diet his resting pulse rate will be lower
than normal. This means he will supply the same volume of blood as a normal
person but in less heart beats.
The PACEMAKER (Sinoatrial node).
Function: Controls the heart rate or heart beats.
Location: Patch of muscle in the RIGHT atrium.
How does it control it:
It sends electrical signals through the wall of the heart at regular
intervals. This causes the muscles of the heart to contract when they
should.
The pace maker changes depending on what the body needs.
If you’re exercising you need more oxygen so your brain sends nerve
impulses to the pacemaker to make your heart beat faster.

Explain how the pace maker controls the heart beats of someone (5 marks)
During exercise you need more energy so you require more aerobic
respiration which means you need more oxygen. The brain then sends
nerve impulses along the nerves to the pace makers to make the heart
beat faster. When your muscles respire more than usual more quickly this
will lead to more CO2 production. This CO2 will dissolve in the blood
plasma which will form weak acid (carbonic acid) which lowers the overall
pH of the blood. However, there are receptor cells in the brain which
sense the drop in pH in the blood in medulla oblingata. This triggers a
response which increases the frequency of nerve impulses sent to the
pace maker to help regulate the pH of the blood.

Note: Some people’s pace maker’s might not work anymore but people can get
artificial pacemakers that can be inserted in the person’s heart. However, they
don’t last forever.