Physiology of The Normal Heart Essay
Discussion: Cardiac Hypertrophy and Conduction
- Can hypertrophy cause conduction issues in the heart?
Indeed, hypertrophy (usually left ventricular hypertrophy or LVH) can cause conduction issues in the heart. The heart generates and conducts its own electrical impulses and it is this that causes the myocardium to contract and the heart to beat. The cardiac cycle is the process and sequence that leads to heart contraction, relaxation, and therefore pumping of blood into the pulmonary artery and aorta by the right ventricle (RV) and left ventricle (LV) respectively. Understanding the cardiac cycle (conduction) will help in understanding how cardiac hypertrophy affects conduction in the heart (Michail & Brown, 2018). Physiology of The Normal Heart Essay
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The initial impulse is generated at the sinoatrial (SA) node (pacemaker of the heart) found in the upper right atrium. Both atria contract as a result of this initial impulse. At the bottom of the partition of the atria is the atrioventricular (AV) node. The impulse from the SA node comes to the AV node and activates it sending the current down the AV bundle that then branches into two bundles going to the RV and LV. These two bundles divide further into fibres of Purkinje. Once the impulse gets to the Purkinje fibers it makes the ventricles to contract. With a hypertrophied ventricle, it will take longer for the current in the Purkinje fibers to travel through the now bulky myocardium. The amplitude of the QRS complex (ventricular depolarization) swells (Michail & Brown, 2018). Physiology of The Normal Heart Essay
- What is the effect of cardiac hypertrophy on valvular function?
The effect of cardiac hypertrophy on valvular function is best seen in the mitral valve. This is the valve that is found between the left atrium and the left ventricle of the heart. According to Michail and Brown (2018), cardiac hypertrophy is most prominent in the ventricular septum that separates the two ventricles. When the septum enlarges, there is narrowing of the left ventricular chamber with some degree of obstruction to the outflow of oxygenated blood into the aorta. This is referred to as hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy or HOCM (Cleveland Clinic, 2022; Jain et al., 2019). This outflow obstruction in the LV then interferes with the normal functioning of the mitral valve when it rubs against the enlarged septum now getting in its way. Physiology of The Normal Heart Essay
As the mitral valve keeps on striking the enlarged septum blocking its proper function, changes begin to occur in it (Cleveland Clinic, 2022; Jain et al., 2019). It begins to fail and a condition referred to as mitral insufficiency (mitral incompetence or regurgitation) sets in. The mitral valve becomes unable to close properly after oxygenated blood enters the LV from the left atrium. The oxygenated blood flows backwards with each contraction with the heart function getting seriously affected (Jain et al., 2019).
Please answer these questions for discussion post response using APA format Length: A minimum of 150 words per post, not including references
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1) Can hypertrophy cause conduction issues in the heart?
2) What is the effect of cardiac hypertrophy on valvular function? Physiology of The Normal Heart Essay