Cardiovascular: Body Organ System Basic Review and Diseases

4 Heart Chambers

Right Atrium, Right Ventricle, Left Atrium, Left Ventricle

Normal Blood Pressure

120 (systolic)/ 80 (diastolic)

Systolic vs Diastolic

Systolic - pressure in your arteries when your heart beats (contraction)

Diastolic - pressure in your arteries while your heart rests/relaxes between beats

High Blood Pressure Readings

High Systolic greater than 130mmHg (with normal diastolic) = Can be caused by Artery stiffening (aging), stress or anxiety, high sodium diet. Health Risks = stroke, heart failure, aneurysms.

High Diastolic greater than 80 mmHg (with normal systolic) = Can be caused by obesity, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise. Health risks = Kidney damage, early heart disease, blood vessel tearing

High diastolic and systolic = standard hypertension, significantly increasing overall cardiovascular risk

Low Blood Pressure Readings

Low systolic under 90mmHg: Caused by dehydration, heart valve problems, or prolonged bed rest. Causes dizziness, fainting, and fatigue

Low diastolic under 60mmHg: Low diastolic means the heart muscle itself gets less oxygen increasing the risk of heart failure

Blood Pressure Red Flags

Hypertensive Crisis: a reading over 180/120 mmHg accompanied by chest pain, shortness of breath, or vision changes

Shock: Low blood pressure accompanied by confusion, cold or clammy skin, and rapid, shallow breath

Blood Composition

Plasma - consists of mostly water and some proteins involved with blood clotting

Formed elements - erythrocytes (red blood cells) and leukocytes (white blood cells)

cardi/o

heart

cardiac cycle

Heartbeat consisting of alternating contraction (systole) and relaxation (diastole)

Cardiac output

volume of blood pumped per minute

Cardiology

medical specialty focused on the diagnosis and treatment of disorders and diseases of the heart

Endocardium

Smooth, innermost layer of tissue that lines the chambers of the heart

Epicardium

Outer layer of the heart wall, which is the inner layer of the pericardium

Myocardial

Pertaining to the myocardium: thick, muscular middle layer of the heart wall

Electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG)

Medical test that measures and records the electrical activity of the heart over a period of time

Artery

Blood vessel that carries oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body’s tissues

Vein

Blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood back to the heart

Capillaries

smallest blood vessels in the body, which act as the exchange sites between blood and tissue cells for nutrients, oxygen, and waste

Erythrocyte

Red blood cell that contains hemoglobin and is responsible for carrying oxygen to tissues

Hem/o, hemat/o

iron-rich protein pigment in RBCs that transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body

Plaque

deposit of fatty substances (cholesterol), cellular waste, and other substances that build up inside the inner walls of arteries

Vasoconstriction

narrowing of blood vessels, which increases blood pressure and restricts blood flow

Vasodilation

widening of blood vessels which decreases blood pressure and increases blood flow

Peripheral resistance

resistance to blood flow offered by the systemic blood vessels

Cholesterol

waxy, fat like substance found in all the cells in the body. Make hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help digest foods

High-density lipoprotein (HDL)

Often called good cholesterol. This lipoprotein transports cholesterol from other parts of the body back to the liver to be removed

Low-density lipoprotein

Bad cholesterol, high levels of this lipoprotein can lead to plaque buildup in the arteries

Blood pressure

force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. Measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg)

Systolic pressure

Top number in blood pressure reading. Measures maximum pressure in the arteries when the heart beats

Diastolic pressure

Bottom number, measures the pressure in the arteries while the heart rests between beats

Angioplasty

non-surgical procedure used to open clogged or narrowed coronary arteries. Involves inflating a tiny ballon and the placement of a stent

Aneurysm

Localized, balloon-like bulge in the wall of an artery

Angina

Chest pain or discomfort due to reduced blood flow to the heart muscle

Arteriosclerosis

The thickening of the artery walls

atherosclerosis

specific kind of arteriosclerosis caused by the buildup of fats and cholesterol (plaque) in the artery walls

Atrial fibrillation

irregular, often rapid heart rate causing poor blood flow

Atrial flutter

abnormal heart rhythm occurring in the atria, a type of atrial arrhythmia

Bradycardia

slower than normal heart rate

Cerebrovascular accident

Stroke; occurs when blood flow to a part of the brain is interrupted

Congestive heart failure

heart doesn’t pump blood as well as it should

Coronary artery disease

Damage or disease in the heart’s major blood vessels

Dysrhythmia

irregular or abnormal heart beat

Edema

Swelling caused by excess fluid trapped in body’s tissues

Endocarditis

infection of the inner lining of your heart chambers and valves

essential hypertension

high blood pressure that does not have a knwon secondary medical cause

Hemorrhage

heavy, severe bleeding or the escape of blood from a ruptured blood vessel

Hyperlipidemia

high levels of lipids (fats/cholesterol) in the blood

hypertension

condition where the force of the blood against the artery walls is too high

hypotension

abnormally low blood pressure

Ischemic heart disease

heart problems caused by narrowed heart arteries, reducing blood supply to the heart

Myocardial infarction

commonly known as a heart attack

Orthostatic hypotension

sudden drop in blood pressure that occurs when a person stands up

peripheral artery disease

circulatory condition in which narrowed blood vessels reduce blood flow to the limbs

secondary hypertension

high blood pressure caused by another medical condition

tachycardia

faster than normal resting heart rate

Medications for Cardiovascular System Conditions and Diseases

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, alpha blockers or beta blockers, diuretics, bile acid sequestrants, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, Omega-3 fatty acid, Angiotensin 2 receptor Blockers, Calcium channel blockers, Nitroglycerin, cholesterol absorption inhibitor, nicotinic acid

Anticoagulation

medical or biological process of preventing or delaying blood clotting

Antithrombin

small protein molevule that inactivates several enzymes of the coagulation system

Coagulation

complex process from which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot

Erythrocyte

A red blood cell that contains hemoglobin and transports oxygen throughout the body

Erythropoiesis

The physiological process by which new red blood cells are produced

Erythropoietin

hormone secreted by the kidneys that stimulates the production of red blood cells

Fibrin

insolublle protein formed from fibrinogen during the clotting process that creates a fibrous mesh

fibrinogen

soluble plasma protein produced by the liver that is converted into fibrin during blood coagulation

granulocytes

category of white blood cells characterized by the presence of granules in their cytoplasm

Hemoglobin

Iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein found within RBCs

Leukocyte

White Blood cell, which is a crucial component of the body’s immune system

Neutrophils

most abundant type of granulocyte and WBC. essential for fighting bacterial infections

Plasma

liquid component of blood that holds blood cells in suspension

Plasmin

enzyme present in blood that degrades plasma proteins including fibrin clots

plasminogen

inactive precursor protein that is converted into the active enzyme plasmin

platelet

disk-shaped cell fragment without a nucleus, found in large numbers in blood and involved in clotting

platelet activation

irreversible change in platelet shape and signaling triggered by vascular injury

platelet adhesion

process by which platelets stick to the exposed subendothelial matrix of a damaged blood vessel wall

Platelet aggregation

process by which platelets bind to one another to form a multi-layered cellular plug

Prothrombin

plasma protein converted into active thrombin during the clotting cascade

Thrombin

enzyme in blood plasma that causes the clotting of blood by converting fibrinogen to fibrin

Thrombocyte

Technical term for a platelet

Thrombus

blood clot formed in situ within the vascular system of the body that impedes blood flow

Von Willebrand factor

A blood glycoprotein involved in hemostasis, required for platelet adhesion to damaged blood vessel walls

Anemia

Condition marked by a deficiency of red blood cells or hemoglobin, leading to reduced oxygen transport

CVA (Cerebrovascular Accident)

Commonly known as a stroke; a sudden interuption of blood flow to the brain, causing tissue damage

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)

The formation of a blood clot within a deep vein, most commonly in the legs

Embolism

Sudden blocking of an artery by a moving blood clot, air bubble, or foreign piece of material that traveled through the bloodstream

Granulocytopenia

A severe deficiency or abnormally low number of granulocytes (type of WBC) in the blood

Hemophilia

rare, inherited bleeding disorder in which the blood does no clot properly due to lack of sufficient blood-clotting proteins

Hypoxia

State in which the body or a specific region of tissue is deprived of adequate oxygen supply

Iron-deficiency anemia

caused by lack of iron, which the body need to make hemoglobin. most common type of anemia

Leukemia

type of cancer that affects the blood-forming tissues in the body, usually leading to the overproduction of abnormal white blood cells

Leukopenia

general decrease in the total number of white blood cells circulating in the blood

Neutropenia

A specific type of leukopenia characterized by an abnormally low number of neutrophils, making the body highly vulnerable to infections

Polycythemia

disorder resulting in an abnormally high concentration of red blood cells, which thickens the blood and slows its flow

Pulmonary embolism

life threatening blockage in one of the pulmonary arteries in the lungs, usually caused by a blood clot traveling from the legs

transient ischemic attack

mini stroke. a temporary blockage of blood flow to the brain that resolves quickly without permanent damage

Venous thromboembolism

disease category tha include both Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism

Von Willebrand disease

genetic bleeding disorder caused by a missing or defective von willebrand factor, a clotting protein that helps platelets clump together

Medications for Hematological System conditions and DiseasesA

Anti-coagulants, Antiplatelets, Aspirin, Glycoprotein llb/llla inhibitors, pentasaccharides, thrombolytics