Normal Heart
Fist size muscular pump
Pumps 6000 lit of blood daily
Perfuses
tissues with nutrients and
Facilitates
removal of waste products.
Heart diseases
Have severe physiologic consequences
Are leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developed nations
750,000 deaths/ year (In US
2. 2
Normal Heart
• Fist size muscular pump
• Pumps 6000 lit of blood daily
• Perfuses
– tissues with nutrients and
• Facilitates
– removal of waste products.
• Heart diseases
– Have severe physiologic consequences
– Are leading cause of morbidity and mortality
in developed nations
• 750,000 deaths/ year (In US)
3. 3
Normal Heart
• Weight
– 250 – 300 gm adult female
– 300 – 350 gm adult male
• Free wall thickness
– R ventricle (RV) 0.3-0.5 cm
– L ventricle (LV) 1.3-1.5 cm
• Cardiomegaly
– Increase in weight or size
• Due to hypertrophy of myocardium
• Due to dilation of chambers.
5. 5
Normal Heart
• 90% of mass of heart is cardiac muscle known as
Myocardium
• Very special inexhaustible muscle
• Composed of muscle cells called cardiac
myocytes.
– Never rest. Contracts ~ once each
second
– Generate contractile force
– Completely dependent on aerobic
metabolism for energy.
»Therefore, very rich in mitochondria
6. 6
Cardiac Myocytes
• Have a single nucleus
• Sarcolemma (cell membrane)
• Sarcoplamic reticulum ( Ca reservoir)
• Mitochondria
• Contractile elements:
– k/a myofilaments
• Arranged in bundles k/a myofibrils
• Myofibrils organized in units k/a Sacomeres
• Are separated from adjacent cells by
Intercalated disks.
12. 12
Normal
• Heart can increase its output many folds as
demand requires.
• This is achieved by:
1. increase in the size of the ventricles
• ventricular dilatation increased force of
contraction Frank Starling law
2. increase in thickness of myofibers
• ventricular hypertrophy increased force
of contraction.
• Failure of compensatory mechanism results in
heart failure
14. 14
Preload
• Is the amount of blood in the heart during
diastole.
• Dependent on venous return to right side of
heart.
• Increase in preload leads to stretching of
cardiac muscle increased force of contraction
increased Stroke volume
15. 15
Afterload
• Is the resistance against which the ventricle
must contract when ejecting blood during
systole.
17. 17
Ventricular Hypertrophy
• is a compensatory change that the heart
undergoes when subjected to an increased
workload.
– Augments myocyte contractile strength.
• Increased workload can occur in association
with:
1. Systemic hypertension
2. Valvular stenosis
3. Valvular insufficiency etc.
• Ventricular hypertrophy may involve the Left or
Right ventricle.
18. 18
Ventricular Hypertrophy
• Left ventricular hypertrophy
– Two types
1. Concentric
2. Eccentric (dilation and hypertrophy)
• Right ventricular hypertrophy
– Two types
1. Concentric
2. Eccentric (dilation and hypertrophy)
19. 19
Concentric Ventricular Hypertrophy
• Pathogenesis:
– Due to contraction against an increased
resistance (afterload)
• Produces concentric thickening of ventricular
wall.
• Causes of Concentric LV hypertrophy:
– Essential hypertension (MCC)*
– Aortic stenosis
• Causes of Concentric RV hypertrophy
– Pulmonary hypertension*
– Pulmonary artery stenosis.
21. 21
Eccentric ventricular hypertrophy
• Pathogenesis:
– Due to volume overload (increased preload)
• Causes dilatation and hypertrophy (eccentric
hypertrophy) of ventricular wall
• Causes of Eccentric LV hypertrophy:
– Mitral valve or aortic valve regurgitation
– L-R shunting of blood (VSD)
• Causes more blood to return to left side of
heart
• Causes of Eccentric RV hypertrophy:
– Tricuspid or pulmonary valve regurgitation
23. 23
Consequences of ventricular
hypertrophy
1. Left or right sided heart failure
2. Angina (primarily LVH)
3. S4 heart sound:
– Correlates with atrial contraction in late
diastole
– Caused by blood entering a noncompliant
ventricle
25. 25
Congestive Heart failure
• What is Heart failure?
– When heart is unable to eject blood
delivered to it by the venous system.
• Epidemiology:
– MC hospital admission diagnosis in elderly
patients.
• Types of heart failure:
1. Left sided heart failure
2. Right sided heart failure
3. Biventricular heart failure
4. High output heart failure.
26. 26
Left sided heart failure (LHF)
• Forward failure:
– Left side of heart cannot eject blood into the
aorta.
– Pathophysiology:
• Blood builds up behind the failed left heart:
• Increase in left ventricular volume /
pressure
• Increase in left atrial pressure
• Increase in pulmonary venous pressure
• Hydrostatic pressure overrides pulmonary
capillary oncotic pressure
• Pulmonary edema results**
27. 27
Left sided heart failure (LHF)
1. Mechanism: Decreased ventricular contraction
– Causes:
• Myocardial infarction***
• Myocardial fibrosis, myocarditis,
cardiomyopathy.
2. Mechanism: Noncompliant ventricle ( restricted
filling)
– Causes:
• Concentric LVH***
• Infiltration of muscle by amyloid, iron or
glycogen ( e.g. Pompe’s disease)
31. 31
Left sided heart failure (LHF)
• Clinical findings: Symptoms outnumber signs
– Dyspnea:
• Difficulty breathing
• Patient cannot take a full inspiration
– Pulmonary edema:
• Due to increased pulmonary venous
hydrostatic pressure
• Bibasilar inspiratory crackels
• Chest radiographs show congestion in upper
lobes and alveolar infiltrates
32. 32
Left sided heart failure (LHF)
– Left sided S3 heart sound
• Caused by blood entering a volume
overloaded left ventricle
• Intensity of the heart sound increases with
expiration
• First cardiac finding* in LHF.
– Mitral valve regurgitation:
• Caused by stretching of the valve ring
• Pansystolic murmur at apex
• Increases in intensity during expiration
33. 33
Left sided heart failure (LHF)
• Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea:
– Choking sensation at night due to increased
venous return to the failed left side of heart
– Blood backs up in lungs producing pulmonary
edema
– Relived by standing or placing a pillow under
the head (pillow orthopnea)
• These maneuvers increase the effect of
gravity on reducing venous return to the
heart.
34. 34
Left sided heart failure (LHF)
• Cough:
– Sputum rusty colored
– Due to alveolar macophages
phagocytosing RBCs (“heart failure”
cells)
35. 35
Left sided heart failure (LHF)
• Chest X ray in heart failure:
– Prominent congestion of blood in the upper
lobes
– Perihilar congestion : Batwing configuration
– Kerley’s B lines: represent septal edema at
the costophrenic angle.
– Patchy interstitial and alveolar infiltrates
– Pleural effusion
38. 38
Right sided heart failure
• Backward failure:
– Right side of the heart cannot pump blood
from the venous system to the lungs.
• Pathophysiology:
– Blood accumulates behind failed right heart:
– ↑ in right ventricular volume/ pressure
– ↑ in right atrial pressure
– ↑ in jugular venous pressure
– Increase in venous hydrostatic pressure
– Hepatomegaly, dependent pitting edema +
ascites
40. 40
Right sided heart failure
• Clinical findings:
– Signs outnumber symptoms
– Prominence of jugular veins
• Due to increased venous hydrostatic
pressure
– Right sided S3 heart sound :
• due to volume overload in the right ventricle
• Increases in intensity with inspiration
– Tricuspid valve regurgitation
• Caused by stretching of valve ring
41. 41
Right sided heart failure
• Painful hepatomegaly:
– Passive liver congestion due to backup of blood
into the central veins (Nutmeg liver)
• Dependent pitting edema and ascites
– Due to an increase in venous hydrostatic
pressure
44. 44
High-output heart failure
• A form of heart failure in which CO is increased
compared with values for the normal resting
state.
• Pathogenesis:
– Increase in stroke volume
• Hyperthyroidism, increased blood volume
– Decrease in blood viscosity
• Severe anemia
– Vasodilation of peripheral resistance arterioles
• Increases venous return to the heart
– Causes of vasodilation:
»Thiamine deficiency, early phase of
endotoxic shock
45. 45
High-output heart failure
• Pathogenesis:
– Arteriovenous fistula:
• AV communications bypasses the
microcirculation
• Increases venous return to the heart
• Causes of AV fistulas:
– Trauma from knife wound (MCC)
– Surgical shunt for dialysis
– Pagets disease of bone: AV fistulas
develop in the bone