The Cardiovascular System: The Most Important System In The Body

The cardiovascular system is the process of the heart pumping the blood around the body through blood vessels, arteries, veins and capillaries. The main functions of the system are to transport materials to and from the cells around the body, to assist in temperature, to keep the levels of fluid in the body at the correct level, to distribute heat around the body and to defend the body. This system is the heart, which is a muscle that pumps blood around the body through arteries, veins and capillaries. Blood transports oxygen to the body cells which helps them to metabolise energy in the body. During this process the blood is also getting rid of any waste products of respiration, carbon dioxide and water. Blood also helps to supply heat, hormones, nutrients, salts and urea around the body. The heart is placed in between the lungs which is protected by the rib cage and is the size of a fist.

The cardiovascular system is made up of blood, the heart and blood vessels which are divided into arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules and veins. (www.livestrong.com, 2013)

The cardiovascular system, which consists of the heart and blood vessels, is the circulatory systems in our body. The major function of the system is transportation; the heart is the system pump and the blood vessels are the delivery routes. The heart transport respiratory gases, nutrients, wastes, and other substances vital to the body’s homeostasis to and from the cells by using the blood as a medium.

Our cardiovascular system is composed of the heart and blood vessels. The main purpose of this system is to transport substances throughout the body. Even though transportation is the main function of the cardiovascular system, it is not the only function. Along with transportation we have protection and regulation.

Composed of the heart, blood vessels, and blood, the cardiovascular system is the body system that carries out the tasks of pumping and transporting blood, oxygen, nutrients, and waste products, and other substances throughout the body.

The heart pumps the blood around the body through the blood vessels which is made of mostly veins and capillaries. The blood carries the dissolved oxygen around the bodily

Blood contains nutrients from the foods you eat and oxygen from the air you breathe. It also

(Mayo Clinic, 2013) Some surgical procedures used to treat CAD are angioplasty and coronary artery bypass surgery. (Mayo Clinic, 2013) The angioplasty surgery is when your doctor inserts a catheter to the blockage in the artery and threads the wire through the narrowed arteries. (Opening blocked coronary arteries: New questions about the old answer, nd., p.2) Once the balloon is in place, at the sight of the blockage, the balloon inflates which causes the plaque to crack and the artery to become free from blockage. (Opening blocked coronary arteries: New questions about the old answer, nd., p.2) The other surgical opinion for CAD is coronary artery bypass surgery is a procedure done by a doctor using a graft. (Mayo Clinic, 2013) The doctor will construct a graft to direct the blood flow around the blockage using existing blood vessels in the body. (Mayo Clinic, 2013) Due to the fact that this procedure requires open heart surgery, it is usually used for patients with several partial or full blockages. (Mayo Clinic, 2013)

The heart, blood and blood vessels make up the basis of the cardiovascular system also known as the circulatory system. The average human body contains approximately 5 litres of blood which is carried around the body via a network of blood vessels split into three types; arteries, veins and capillaries. The arteries are the largest of the three vessels and carry blood away from the heart. Veins carry blood to the heart and are smaller than arteries, then finally the smallest vessels known as capillaries distribute the oxygen rich blood to organs whilst simultaneously picking up the waste carbon dioxide and water from the organs to transport back to the heart where it can be pumped into the lungs to be exhaled.

A coronary angiography provides information about the hearts blood pressure and functioning. This procedure can identify whether the coronary arteries are blocked or narrowing. A tube/camera is passed through an artery in the groin or arm; it is guided using x-rays up to the heart. A coronary angiogram is a safe procedure, but there are some small side affect. You may feel a slightly strange sensation when the dye is put down the catheter, a small amount of bleeding when the catheter is removed, a bruise in your groin or arm.

Facilities, performing coronary CTA, should develop and adhere to evidence based coronary CTA protocols for optimal, high quality, cost-effective, patient-centered care. A comprehensive review of the literature was performed using CINAHL, PubMed, MEDLINE, and Medscape search engines, and with the terms ?coronary CTA?, ?protocols?, ?guidelines?, ?radiation?, ?contrast?, ?beta-blockers?, and ?radiology nursing?.

Angiograms are for diagnostic purposes so in the x-ray imaging one would look for a narrowing of the artery/vein. The x-ray moves takes 2-5 second videos from five different angles of the heart. During this time they surgeon and those in the control room look for any potential plaque blockages where the vessel becomes restricted and the color of the dye is not as dark. Of the eight angiograms five needed stents or valve replacements. They also pump a large amount of dye into the left ventricle of the heart to see the strength at which it is pumping. The first angiogram procedure I saw was on this 350lb man who was having heart arrhythmias and through this procedure they were able to determine that there was a 70% blockage in one of his arteries. However, Dr. Reichard wanted to do further investigation to see how much blood was getting through to determine if

132); however, there is increasing interest in the use of transradial artery access (TRA) for coronary angiography and PCI. Several European countries and Asia use TRA as the primary mode of access (Mitchell et al., 2012), but TRA still accounts for only ten percent of the overall PCI procedures in the United States (Amoroso & Kiemeneij, 2010). A more recent report revealed one of six PCI’s in interventional practice was completed by the TRA approach (Feldman et al., 2013) which is suggestive of increasing adoption of TRA in the United States.

Stroke volume is the amount of blood pumped out of the heart and into the body from the left ventricle during each contraction and is measured in millilitres per beat. When the heart is resting stroke volume is at a normal pace. When the heart rate starts to increase stroke volume has to become faster and pump more blood out of the heart

Cardiac catheterization is often referred to as coronary angiography or a coronary angiogram. It is a radiographic procedure that is used to look at and visualize the heart and the coronary arteries. During a cardiac catheterization it is possible for the cardiologist performing the procedure to see how effectively blood is flowing through the coronary arteries. In addition, this procedure allows the cardiologists to see how blood is moving through the chambers of the heart and how effective the heart valves are functioning. A cardiac catheterization can also allow for the visualization of the movement of the walls of the heart to see if the pumping action of the heart is normal.