Mid Unit Summary

The circulatory system is the system is the system that transports nutrients and oxygen through out your body and transports waste products out of your body. The heart is at the center of this complex system. The heart the pump for the system that is vital for life. The layers of the heart include the pericardium (not actually part of the heart), the epicardium, the myocardium, and the endocardium. The pericardium is the sac surrounding the heart for protection, restriction, and lubrication. The epicardium is the outer epithelial tissue that is attached to the pericardium. The myocardium is the cardiac muscle that is responsible for the heart's contractions. The Endocardium is the inner connective tissue that allows the blood to smoothly flow through and has the valves open and close smoothly. The blood flow though the heart goes from the vena cava to the right atrium, through the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle then out through the pulmonary valve to the pulmonary artery.  After the blood exchanges oxygen for carbon dioxide the blood return through the pulmonary vein where it enters the left atrium then goes through the bicuspid valve to the left ventricle. It exits through the aortic valve to the aorta and travels out to the body. (see "Box Heart" for visual) The right atrium and right ventricle hold deoxygenated blood, where as the left atrium and ventricle hold oxygenated blood; these 4 caverns are called the chambers of the heart. The hear pumps blood through it in an electric current system of nodes. The SA Node initiates the beat, when it travels to the AV Node the atria contract and push the blood to the ventricles. The ventricles then contract and push blood out of the heart. The valves prevent back flow into the atria. Then the whole heart relaxes in diastole.
The circulatory system is made mainly of the heart, arteries and veins. A vein is a blood vessel that carries blood to the hear, where as arteries carry it away. Venuoles are smaller veins and arterioles are smaller arteries. The artirioles branch off and surround cells in capillaries to deliver nutrients and oxygen to the cells. It also includes blood, which fills the whole closed system. There are various specific blood vessels in this system. The accessory organs of the circulatory system include the liver, lungs, kidneys, intestines, bone marrow, and spleen. Each help to filter/ clear of toxins or provide with new cells or nutrients. Blood pressure is the amount of pressure when the ventricles contract over when the whole heart relaxes.
Plaque build up in the arteries can be life threatening. This condition, called atherosclerosis, happens when the inflammatory response occurs on a worn artery wall. The result is plaque. High levels of LDL can contribute to this because the LDL will congregate around the cite. The plaque can break off and cause a blood clot, leading to a heart attack or stroke. A heart attack starts with restricted blood flow to the heart that then causes an irregular heart beat called fibrillation. In this phase the heart can be reset. Then the person goes into cardiac arrest, where the heart stops beating. Parts or the entire heart (and person) can die in a heart attack due to the cardiac arrest phase. An EKG reads the electrical signals in the heart and can tell if a heart attack is happening.  Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in America. Healthy lifestyle can drastically reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular conditions. An angiography is when die is put in the blood stream to see places where plaque has built up and can put a risk factor on a heart attack for that person. An aneurysm is when the artery wall is weakened. It can swell and bulge out and eventually rupture, leading to death.
Blood is made of plasma, a watery fluid with nutrients dissolved in it, and blood cells. Blood cells include WBC and RBC. RBC carry the oxygen to the cells. A blood type is the antigens on the RBC. The WBC help fight infections. Neutrophils fight bacteria and have globbed nuclei.   Basophils act in an allergy and are puffy. Eosinphils fight the parasites and are orange. Lymphocytes help cause an immune response when needed.It has a dark nucleus. Monocytes have antigens to attack microbes. Platelets help clot the blood. An increase in the number of WBC may indicate what type of microbe is invading the body; this is called the WBC differencial.

Blood Pressure

Pulse Comparison 

	Test 1 (BPM)	Test 2 (BPM)	Average (BPM)
Radial Pulse	68	69	68.5
Carotid Pulse	76	80	78
Stethoscope	60	76	68
Average (BPM)	68	75	71.5

Blood Pressure 

	Subject 1
BP Test 1	115/79
BP Test 2	110/70

1. Systole is when the ventricles contract and push the blood out through the body. The higher number is the systole pressure. It is when the pressure of the blood pulsating through the arteries equals the pressure of the cuff. Diastole is when the whole heart has a brief period of rest before beginning the next beat. We read this as the lower number in blood pressure.
2. Heart rate is measured with a stethoscope or with fingers. Blood pressure is measured with a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope.
3. The thumb is not ideal to use because it has its own pulse. The two pulses can be confused and cause an inaccurate reading.
4. The blood pressure cuff works by first increasing the pressure to the point of cutting blood supply to the arm off. After the circulation is cut off you slowly lower the pressure until the blood starts pumping through the arm again and you can hear it. This is the systolic pressure reading. It is when the pressure of the ventricles closing equals the pressure exerted on that artery. Then the diastolic pressure reading is when the heart beat stops being heard. That is when the pressure equals the pressure exerted when the heart relaxes.
 A blood pressure cuff

Heart Blood Flow

The blood comes in through the superior Vena Cava or the inferior Vena Cava or the coronary sinus. All three veins empty into the right atrium. The blood then goes through the tricuspid valve and enters the right ventricle. The deoxygenated blood travels through the pulmonary valve to the pulmonary trunk and right and left pulmonary arteries. At the lungs they drop off the Carbon dioxide and collect the oxygen in the lungs. The newly oxygenated blood travels through the pulmonary veins to the left atrium. Then through the bicuspid valve and into the left ventricle. It then travels through the aortic valve to the aorta, which takes the blood out to the body to deliver oxygen. Part of the aorta branches off to the coronary arteries that deliver oxygen to the heart muscle. The coronary vein takes the waste products away from the heart muscle and lead to the coronary sinus, where the blood flow starts over.
Go here to see the blood flow video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyYbFQ2OTZ4

Unit 2 Reflection

This unit we covered what health is. Health is our overall well-being and ability to function. My health is mediocre. I struggle with healthily managing stress and socializing with others the most. I eat fairly healthy food, with lots of vegetables and fruits. I sleep enough each night. In Saratoga the students have a hard time managing stress and sleeping enough. Having a proper balance of the pillars is important because they must all be maintained in order to live to the fullest and best of each person's ability. A theme in this unit is everything in moderation. This especially showed up in the nutrition unit; little bits of each food will not kill you, but when eaten in excess it can be deadly. Too much of any of the pillars can be bad, we just need to focus of living while balancing each of the pillars.
In nutrition I learned about how overcarbsumption can lead to insulin and leptin resistance. The person then becomes immune to the signals that the leptin sends to make them stop eating and packs fat on to their body. I learned that exercise in any amount can lead to a large variety of health benefits. Socializing can lead to preventing many diseases and maintain good health. Stress has three stages of response: the alarm, resistance, and exhaustion phase. Sleep is needed to regenerate the body and cleanse the brain to maintain optimal health and clarity.
My health goals are to focus on the pillar of stress and better manage my stress. My academic goal for the next unit is to ask the questions and make real life connections to the material so I better understand it.
In real life I feel the alarm phase of stress often. When I am in a situation of immediate danger I get a burst of energy that allows me to run and escape. The pain I should be feeling, I do not feel, allowing me to just save my life. My heart pounds in my ears and I feel superhuman. I can run extra fast to get away and be safe. After I feel safe again I can calm down and carry on as usual. Sometimes I do not calm down and still feel in danger. This is when I would go into resistance phase and have a more long term effect on my body.

Sleep Diary

Overall I think I have fairly good sleeping habits. Teens are supposed to get 9-10 hours of sleep and that is what I am getting each night. I wake up about once or twice a night due to convulsing in nightmares. I did not realize I woke up this much because I often forget when I wake up in the morning.
My daily energy level is fairly consistent each day. I use sleep to avoid life so that is often confused for tiredness, when really it is just lack of motivation. Starting in the evening I get tired and want to go to bed. By 9 or 10 I am in bed or barely functional due to tiredness. I go to bed because doing homework would not be very productive and when I am that sleepy I cannot think clearly to make good decisions.