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The heart is a muscular organ situated in the mediastinum.It consists of four chambers, four valves, two main arteries (the coronary arteries), and the conduction system. The left and right sides of the heart have different functions: the right side receives de-oxygenated blood through the superior and inferior venae cavae and pumps blood to the lungs through the pulmonary artery, and the left ...
In the developed world, valvular heart disease is most commonly caused by degeneration secondary to old age, but may also be caused by infection of the heart valves (endocarditis). In some parts of the world rheumatic heart disease is a major cause of valvular heart disease, typically leading to mitral or aortic stenosis and caused by the body ...
Coronary artery disease (CAD) or ischemic heart disease are the terms used to describe narrowing of the coronary arteries. [8] As the disease progresses, plaque buildup can partially block blood flow to the heart muscle. Without enough blood supply , the heart is unable to work properly, especially under increased stress.
Interruptions of coronary circulation quickly cause heart attacks (myocardial infarctions), in which the heart muscle is damaged by oxygen starvation. Such interruptions are usually caused by coronary ischemia linked to coronary artery disease , and sometimes to embolism from other causes like obstruction in blood flow through vessels.
Depiction of the heart, major veins and arteries constructed from body scans. Oxygenated blood enters the systemic circulation when leaving the left ventricle, via the aortic semilunar valve. [15] The first part of the systemic circulation is the aorta, a massive and thick-walled artery.
In the blood supply of the heart, the right coronary artery (RCA) is an artery originating above the right cusp of the aortic valve, at the right aortic sinus in the heart. [1] [2] It travels down the right coronary sulcus, towards the crux of the heart.
The heart works by pumping blood around the body allowing oxygen, nutrients, waste, hormones and white blood cells to be transported. Diagram of the human heart. The heart is composed of two atria and two ventricles. The primary purpose of the atria is to allow uninterrupted venous blood flow to the heart during ventricular systole.
The heart's cardiac skeleton comprises four dense connective tissue rings that encircle the mitral and tricuspid atrioventricular (AV) canals and extend to the origins of the pulmonary trunk and aorta. This provides crucial support and structure to the heart while also serving to electrically isolate the atria from the ventricles. [1]