Pathophysiology Report: Examination of Heart Function and Blood Flow

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the pathophysiology of blood flow and heart function. It details the process of blood circulation within the heart, starting from the right atrium and progressing through the ventricles and pulmonary circulation before returning to the left side of the heart. The report highlights the role of key components like the atria, ventricles, and valves in regulating blood flow and preventing backflow. It also explains the concepts of preload, afterload, and contractility, and how they affect the heart's pumping ability. Additionally, the report touches upon factors like the thickness of the heart's chambers and the diameter of blood vessels and how they influence blood flow resistance. The report is supported by references to relevant research, providing a solid foundation for understanding the mechanics of the heart.

Running head: PATHOPHYSIOLOGY 1
Pathophysiology
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PATHOPHYSIOLOGY 2
Pathophysiology
The right atrium obtains blood deficient of oxygen from all body tissues via the inferior
vena cava which in turn flows into the right ventricular chamber with the opening of tricuspid
valves. Following the opening of the pulmonic valves and flowing in the pulmonary artery, the
blood which is deficient of oxygen enters the cavities of the lungs to be purified and hence
becomes rich in oxygen. Then, the blood rich in oxygen flows in the pulmonary vein descending
to right atrium cavity and flows into the left ventricle via the mitral valves. From the left
ventricle chamber, blood rich in oxygen is pumped to all body parts including organs, tissues and
body cells via the aorta.
The whole heart is a muscular organ. The muscle walls of the left ventricular are thicker
to create more pressure upon contraction that will pump blood to all body tissues and organs.
Presence of sinus node tissues that produce electric impulses enables the heart to carry out the
blood pumping activity involuntarily (Doost, Ghista, Su, Zhong, & Morsi, 2016). Presence of
valves regulates blood flow in and out of the heart chambers. Upon their closure, heart valves
prevent backflow of blood hence preventing blood overload/ accumulation in the heart chambers.
Preload volume comes by as a result of relaxation of ventricular muscle and contraction
of atrium muscles resulting from filling up of ventricles with blood. On the other side, afterload
comes by as a result of contraction of the ventricular heart muscles resulting to pumping out of
blood from the heart to either the lungs or rest of body tissues (Solem, 2016). Contractility of the
heart is brought about by electrical impulses from the sinus node.
The thickness of the heart lumens and vessels affects the flow of blood during the
pumping activity. Tapering of the heart lumen and thinning blood vessels increases resistance to

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blood flow; thus, the heart will require more pressure for the blood to move successfully from
one point to another within the heart.

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References
Doost, S. N., Ghista, D., Su, B., Zhong, L., & Morsi, Y. S. (2016). Heart blood flow simulation:
a perspective review. Biomedical engineering online, 15(1), 101.
Solem, J. O. (2016). U.S. Blood flow controlling apparatus. Patent No. 9,498,330. Washington,
DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 13(2), 321.