The Cardiac Cycle and The Electric Pathway

As we tackle further regarding the basic concepts of the cardiovascular system, it is composed of the main organ, heart, which pumps blood through out the body by collecting deoxygenated blood converting them to be oxygenated to store nutrients in other parts of the body. This is done through the arteries, veins, and capillaries.

The cardiac cycle concentrates more on the rate or the number of beats of your heart per minute. This factor can greatly affect the performance of an individual. For instance, let us compare a man eating balanced meals and exercises regularly while the other not so. As we notice the rate and the number of beats of the heart of the first man is fairly running around 70-80 beats per minute while the other one has a slower rate which indicates potential health problems in the future. In this lesson, there are specific terms that are required to remember and here are some :

*systole - the contraction phase of the heart

*diastrole - the relaxation phase of the heart

*anastomoses - the interconnection web of the heart and its other circulatory parts like the veins, arteries, and the capillaries.

In the second lesson, we can consider the heart serving as an electric pathway for other parts and systems of the body to perform their tasks.