1.

Premature systole

A premature contraction of the heart, resulting in momentary cardiac arrhythmia, is called premature systole. 2. Cardiac cycle

The cardiac events that occur from the beginning of one heartbeat to the beginning of the next are called the cardiac cycle. The cardiac cycle consists of a period of relaxation called diastole, during which the heart fills with blood, followed by a period of contraction called systole. 3. Stroke volume output

Stroke volume output is the volume of blood ejected from the left ventricle each beat. In adults, the normal value of stroke volume output for the resting adult is 60~80ml. 4. Cardiac output

Cardiac output is the total volume of blood pumped by the ventricle per minute, or simply the product of heart rate (HR) and stroke volume (SV). The average cardiac output for the resting adult is about 5L/min. 5. Ejection fraction

The percentage of blood that is pumped out of a filled ventricle as a result of a heartbeat is called ejection fraction. 6. Cardiac index

Cardiac index is the cardiac output per square meter of body surface area. The normal human being weighing 70 kilograms has a body surface area of about 1.7 square meters, which means that the normal average cardiac index for adults is about 3 L/min/m2 of body surface area. 7. Cardiac reserve

Cardiac reserve refers to the heart's ability to quickly adjust to immediate demands placed upon it. The maximum percentage that the cardiac output can increase above normal is called the cardiac reserve. In the normal young adult the cardiac reserve is 300 to 400 percent. 8. Frank-Starling mechanism

The heart has the intrinsic capability of increasing its force of contraction and therefore stroke volume in response to an increase in venous return. This is called the Frank-Starling mechanism in honor of the scientific contributions of Otto Frank (late 19 th century) and Ernest

Starling (early 20th century). This phenomenon occurs in isolated hearts, and therefore is independent of neural and humoral influences. 9. Atrioventricular delay

The conductive system is organized so that the cardiac impulse does not travel from the atria into the ventricles too rapidly. It is primarily the A-V node and its adjacent conductive fibers that delay this transmission of the cardiac impulse from the atria into the ventricles. This delay allows time for the atria to empty their blood into the ventricles before ventricular contraction begins. 10. Electrocardiogram When the cardiac impulse passes through the heart, electrical current also spreads from the heart into the adjacent tissues surrounding the heart. A small proportion of the current spreads all the way to the surface of the body. If electrodes are placed on the body skin on opposite sides of the heart, electrical potentials generated by the current can be recorded; the recording is known as an electrocardiogram.

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Describe in sequence the events that occur in the heart during cardiac cycle. (1) Atrial systole; (2) Isovolumic contraction phase; (3) Rapid ejection phase; (4) Reduced ejection phase; (5) Isovolumic relaxation phase; (6) Rapid filling phase; (7) Reduced filling phase. List the factors that affect heart pumping and the effect of each. (1) Preload Frank-Starling mechanism; (2) Afterload; (3) Myocardial contractility; (4) Heart rate.

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3.

Describe the way the ECG is recorded and the waves of the ECG. (1) The electrocardiogram (ECG) measures changes in skin electrical voltage/potential caused by electrical currents generated by the heart. (2) The waves of the ECG: a. P wave: the sequential depolarization of the right and left atria; b. QRS complex: right and left ventricular depolarization; c. ST-T wave: ventricular repolarization; d. U wave: origin for this wave is not clear - but probably represents "afterdepolarizations" in the ventricles.