Heart Flow Strategies

imagine left and right sides as if it were in your own body, this will help prevent directional confusion

THE HEART HIGHWAY MNEMONIC (blue side)

1. “Vans → Right Atrium → Right Ventricle → Arteries → Lungs”

“VANS RIDE RIGHT, ARTERIES LIFT LUNGS.”

THE PROCESS OF OXYGENATING BLOOD

Right side = Blue = “Bad air” blood (deoxygenated)

Left side = Red = “Lush air” blood (oxygenated)

WHAT ARE VENA CAVAS? (blue side)

VANS = Vena cavas (superior & inferior)

The vena cavae are the two largest veins in the body, and their whole job is to return deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Simple, but absolutely essential.

“Superior = upper body, Inferior = lower body.”

• Both are veins, so they carry blood to the heart.

• Both empty into the right atrium, not the left.

WHAT IS THE RIGHT ATRIUM? (blue side)

RIDE RIGHT = Right atrium → Right ventricle

The right atrium is basically the entry lobby of the heart — everything deoxygenated has to pass through it before the heart can send it to the lungs.

“Right atrium = receiving room.”

WHAT ARE ARTERIES? (blue side)

ARTERIES = Pulmonary arteries

Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart.

Most carry oxygenated blood, except the pulmonary artery, which carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs.

“A = Away from the heart”

Key Functions of Arteries

• Deliver oxygen‑rich blood to tissues

• Maintain blood pressure through their thick, muscular walls

• Help regulate blood flow by constricting or dilating

WHAT IS THE LIFT(LEFT) LUNG? (blue side)

LIFT LUNGS = Blood goes to lungs to get oxygen “get a LIFT”

What LIFT Actually Means

LIFT = Left Is Fewer Two

→ The left lung has 2 lobes

→ The right lung has 3 lobes

That’s it. It’s not a heart structure, and it has no cardiac function.

The left lung partially wraps around the heart, especially the left ventricle.

THE HEART HIGHWAY MNEMONIC (red side)

“Lungs → Veins → Left Atrium → Left Ventricle → Aorta → Body”

“LUNGS’ VEINS LEAD LEFT, VENTRICLE AIMS AORTA.”

Imagine the red side as a cartoon heart… the blood and the oxygen “come together” just like the red heart symbolizes two people “coming together in love. <3

WHAT ARE PULMONARY VEINS? (red side)

LUNGS’ VEINS = Pulmonary veins

two main types of veins involved with the lungs, and they do opposite jobs. (brachial and pulmonary)

Pulmonary veins are the most important lung veins.

What they do

• Carry oxygenated blood FROM the lungs TO the left atrium

• They are the only veins in the body that carry oxygenated blood

“Veins go to the heart — pulmonary veins go to the left atrium with fresh oxygen.”

WHAT IS THE LEFT ATRIUM? (red side)

LEAD LEFT = Left atrium

Its job is to receive oxygenated blood from the lungs and send it into the left ventricle.

Think of it as the “oxygen loading dock” of the heart.

After filling, the left atrium pushes blood through the mitral (bicuspid) valve into the left ventricle, which then pumps it out to the entire body.

*Left atrial enlargement increases the risk of atrial fibrillation *

WHAT IS THE LEFT VENTRICLE (red side)

VENTRICLE = Left ventricle

The left ventricle (LV) is the strongest, thickest, and most powerful chamber of the heart.

Its job is to pump oxygenated blood out to the entire body through the aorta.

Think of it as the “main pump” or the engine room of the heart.

*left‑sided failure causes lung symptoms*

WHAT IS THE AORTA AND WHAT IS ITS PATHWAY? (RED SIDE)

AIMS AORTA = Blood shoots out the aorta to the body

The aorta is the largest artery in the entire body.

Its job is to carry oxygenated blood from the left ventricle to every organ and tissue.

“main highway of systemic circulation”

AIMS = Aorta’s path

• Ascending

• In the arch

• Moving down (descending thoracic)

• Supplying the abdomen

MNEMONIC FOR BOTH SIDES OF THE HEART (BLUE AND RED)

“Vans → RA → RV → PA → Lungs → PV → LA → LV → Aorta.”

MAJOR VESSELS ORDER

Aorta → Pulmonary artery → Veins → Atrium/Ventricle pairs