Cardiovascular System: Part I

This chapter reviews the cardiovascular system in its entirety. It begins with the details of the cardiac cycle, a highly coordinated sequence of electrical and mechanical events that allows blood flow from the atria to the ventricles, which then pump blood out to pulmonary, and systemic circulations. There is an overview of basic ventricular physiology, assessment of ventricular contractility, and systolic and diastolic function. Cardiac output, its determinants, regulation, and its measurement according to the Fick principle and other methods are also extensively reviewed. The chapter moves on to describe the importance of blood pressure and its determinants. It follows with a description of how arterial blood pressure and other intracardiac pressures are measured. Finally, in the event of cardiac arrest, the chapter describes high quality CPR, and several algorithms used in managing patients in cardiac arrest. This review contains 5 figures, and 51 references. Keywords: electrocardiogram (ECG), Frank-Starling law, myocardial contractility, Fick principle, cardiac output, blood pressure, intracardiac pressures, advanced cardiac life support