22. Aug, 2022
The Amazing Web of Life: The Human Heart Article by: Hussein Farhat
The Human Heart: The Anatomy Of Life And Death; How Medical Devices Work
In today's society we rely on numerous medical devices to help with everything from ensuring we can walk, run, and lift heavy objects, to how long we live. However, when it comes to understanding how such devices function and their courses of action, there is still a lack of transparency.
So come with me – we’re about to take a fascinating journey inside the human heart intertwined with a machine!
Introduction: What is the Human Heart, and it's function in our lives
The human heart is the most important organ in your body. It is responsible for pumping blood through your body and helps to control your heartbeat. The heart also helps to transfer oxygen and nutrients to your cells.
Medical devices use the human heart as a model to help them improve their design and function. This article explores how medical devices work and how they are used to helping people with heart diseases, strokes, and other medical conditions.
Introduction: Anatomy of the Human Heart
The human heart is a muscular organ that lies in the chest cavity on the left side. The left atrium (the largest chamber) and the left ventricle are (the largest chamber in the heart) are bounded by two thin layers of cardiomyocytes (cells that produce muscle). The myocardium (heart muscle) is made up of cells that contract and relax repetitively to pump blood throughout the body. In healthy hearts, these cells are arranged in spiral patterns around the chambers.
When your heart beats, blood flows from the larger veins near your lungs into smaller veins within the chambers of your heart. The contraction of your heart muscles pumps the blood through narrower tubes called coronary arteries, through smaller veins called capillaries in your heart, to narrower tubes in the body called veins.
This happens about 6000 times a day for every normal-sized adult. Pumping of blood is regulated by the rhythm of your heart to keep it pumping full force at regular intervals (60 beats per minute for the average adult). During a heartbeat, cells in the muscles of your heart pulsate or contract up to 100,000 times in one minute.
This stimulates the release of chemicals within the muscle like adrenaline and noradrenaline that increase its force and too slightly changed muscle cells receive information from each other via hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine which also tell them to contract harder. So, how does this come together?
How exactly can our hearts act as electrical generators? Through the interaction of muscle cells with specialised organelles called endoplasmic reticulum. Muscle cells contain about 200 to 350 diameter spiky little organelles within their membranes called sarcoplasmic reticulum in other words (a smooth-ish environment just outside the plasma membrane is more appropriate).
Every time a sarcoplasmic reticulum closes to form a tight seal, it creates ion channels which abruptly pinch off from the cell membrane, letting in lots of calcium ions. The calcium ions travel down their channels and influence the sarcoplasmic reticulum. These muscles respond by getting bigger or contracting harder, in other words, that means increasing heart capacity.
This at first glance looks like diaphragmatic movement is necessary to get these changes going; however, there are actually other mechanisms at work as well, I will go into more details in a later article.
What are the main organs of the human heart?
The human heart is composed of four chambers: the right atrium, the left atrium, the right ventricle, and the left ventricle. The heart receives blood from the veins that run through your arms and body and pumps it through the arteries to your other organs. The heart also sends blood back out to the veins and muscles for recycling.
The main functions of the human heart are to provide oxygen-rich blood to all parts of the body and to expel carbon dioxide from your body. When your heart doesn't function properly, you can experience many problems, including chest pain, shortness of breath, and fainting spells.
Medical devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators work by sending electric current through the heart to help it beat more smoothly or to stop it from beating altogether in cases of sudden cardiac death.
"THE HEARTBEAT IS LIFE'S ONLY TRUE SOUND"
The human heart is a marvel of engineering. It is the centrepiece of our body and provides us with essential life-support functions. The heart consists of four chambers that contract and pump blood around the body. But delivering life-supporting oxygen and nutrients to the tissues of our bodies isn’t its only job.
The heart also has the remarkable ability to generate electric signals in your body, triggering movements. Read more about how the heart works here.
Why does a cardiac arrest occur?
As you probably know, a cardiac arrest is the sudden cessation of heart function. It occurs when the heart's electric signals no longer circulate properly and the person falls into a deep coma or dies. The cause of most cardiac arrests is unknown, but there are several factors that can contribute, including age, genetics, environment and lifestyle.
A cardiac arrest begins as a warning: Your heart races and feels like it's pounding out of your chest. This is your body's way of telling you that something's wrong. If you ignore these symptoms, you will eventually have a cardiac arrest.
If you experience any of these warning signs or if you think someone might have a cardiac arrest, immediately call for help! DON'T WAIT! Dial 000
There are many things we can do to prevent cardiac arrests, but the best defence against them is good old-fashioned education. Make sure everyone in your family knows about the dangers of heart disease and how to recognise the warning signs of a problem.
When it comes to medical devices, security is always a top priority. Hospitals use sophisticated technology to monitor patients' vital signs and diagnose health problems, but they also come with their vulnerability.
Cardiac synchronisation therapy, pacemakers, defibrillators
If you've ever had a heart attack, you know that it can be scary. The heart is a vital organ, and when it malfunctions, it can cause serious problems. Fortunately, there are a number of treatments available to help restore normal function to a damaged heart.
Foremost, we need to discuss cardiac synchronisation therapy (CRT). CRT is typically used to treat people who have suffered a heart attack. By artificially resetting the patient's heartbeat, CRT can help them improve their overall health and recovery. CRT is a relatively new treatment, but has been shown to be very effective in treating heart attacks.
Another important treatment for heart disease is pacemakers. A pacemaker is a small device that helps control the patient's heartbeat. Pacemakers are usually implanted into the chest, below the breastbone.
They work by sending electrical signals to the heart to keep it beating at a normal rate. Pacemakers come with different problems and vulnerabilities that bad actors (Hackers) can take advantage of. Over time, pacemakers can wear out due to their lifespan or their batteries can be manually depleted AND YES, THAT IS POSSIBLE, which can lead to a fatal arrhythmia (irregularity in the heartbeat).
Conclusion
The human heart is a remarkable organ. It tirelessly pumps blood throughout the body, helps to regulate our blood sugar levels, and plays a crucial role in our overall well-being. However, it’s not safe for us to rely on the human heart alone; medical devices are necessary to help us stay healthy and live long lives.
In this article, we explored the anatomy of the heart, we will discuss in a later article about medical devices and their various functions. We will also look at how security measures are used to protect these devices from being tampered with.
