Experts say there are a number of ways to make it easier to go to bed at a proper time, including when you exercise and when you eat. Left bundle branch block is a condition in which there's slowing along the electrical pathway to your heart's left ventricle. Ejection fraction is a test that's used to determine the percentage of blood that leaves your left ventricle each time your heart beats.
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Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Medically reviewed by Dr. Payal Kohli, M. What is it? Fast facts How it works Conditions When to seek care Disease prevention Bottom line Your circulatory system , also known as your cardiovascular system, is made up of your heart and blood vessels. What makes up the circulatory system?
A wall called the interventricular septum divides the ventricles. The upper part of the heart is made up of the other two chambers of the heart, called the right and left atria pronounced: AY-tree-uh. The right and left atria receive the blood entering the heart. The tricuspid valve separates the right atrium from the right ventricle, and the mitral pronounced: MY-trul valve separates the left atrium and the left ventricle.
Two other heart valves separate the ventricles and the large blood vessels that carry blood leaving the heart. Blood vessels carrying blood away from the heart are called arteries. They are the thickest blood vessels, with muscular walls that contract to keep the blood moving away from the heart and through the body.
In the systemic circulation, oxygen-rich blood is pumped from the heart into the aorta. This huge artery curves up and back from the left ventricle, then heads down in front of the spinal column into the abdomen. Two coronary arteries branch off at the beginning of the aorta and divide into a network of smaller arteries that provide oxygen and nourishment to the muscles of the heart.
From the right ventricle, the pulmonary artery divides into right and left branches, on the way to the lungs where blood picks up oxygen. As they get farther from the heart, the arteries branch out into arterioles pronounced: ar-TEER-ee-olz , which are smaller and less flexible. Blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart are called veins. They are not as muscular as arteries, but they contain valves that prevent blood from flowing backward.
Veins have the same three layers that arteries do, but they are thinner and less flexible. The terms superior and inferior do not mean that one vein is better than the other, but that they are located above superior and below inferior the heart. A network of tiny capillaries connects the arteries and veins. In addition, waste products such as carbon dioxide are also removed by the capillaries. The circulatory system works closely with other systems in our bodies.
It supplies oxygen and nutrients to our bodies by working with the respiratory system. At the same time, the circulatory system helps carry waste and carbon dioxide out of the body. Hormones — produced by the endocrine system — are also transported through the blood in our circulatory system. Did you ever wonder about the process behind your beating heart?
In the first phase, the ventricles contract this is called systole , pronounced: SIS-tuh-lee , sending blood into the pulmonary and systemic circulation. When the ventricles finish contracting, the aortic and pulmonic valves close to prevent blood from flowing back into the ventricles. Then the ventricles relax this is called diastole , pronounced: dye-AS-tuh-lee and fill with blood from the atria, which makes up the second phase of the cardiac cycle.
A unique electrical system in the heart causes it to beat in its regular rhythm. The sinoatrial pronounced: sy-no-AY-tree-ul or SA node , a small area of tissue in the wall of the right atrium, sends out an electrical signal to start the contracting of the heart muscle.
These electrical impulses cause the atria to contract first; they then travel down to the atrioventricular or AV node , which acts as a kind of relay station. And without nutrients like vitamins and glucose, organs and tissues cannot function properly. The circulatory system is the network of blood vessels that snake around your body carrying oxygen from the heart and lungs to the organs, tissues and cells of the body.
To function at its best the vessels need to be flexible to accommodate increases of pressure as well as clean and clear of blockages. Healthy blood vessels that are flexible, clean and clear provide healthy blood flow to the organs and tissues of the body without any impediment.
A Silent Risk The big challenge with cardiovascular system health is that you cannot feel you have it. Even though the heart and blood vessels are putting more pressure on your heart to pump blood around your body, unless your doctor or healthcare practitioner measures your blood pressure, you will have no idea whether it is high, low or if it is considered to be normal.
This inability to feel whether we have high blood pressure means we pay less attention to it and monitor it less. Are there ways any ways I can help support my cardiovascular system health? This reduces the pressure in the veins. Since the deep and superficial veins are connected the benefits of this are felt in all veins of the leg.
Standing still has the opposite effect, raising pressure in the veins and reducing flow. This occurs when the superficial veins become dilated and irregular. There are several reasons for this occurring. The veins may be weak to start with, there may be a reduced number of valves or the superficial veins may be exposed to abnormally high pressures from the deep veins.
Many of these factors run in families. Once "varicose" the valves in the superficial veins do not work and the flow follows gravity, down the leg when standing. This is why the pain and swelling due to varicose veins is often worse after standing or at the end of the day. Elastic support stockings compress the varicose veins and reduce the flow down them improving the circulation NB do not use stockings if you have bad arterial disease in the legs. Elevation of the legs whenever possible and avoiding long periods of standing will also help relieve the symptoms of varicose veins.
Being overweight raises the pressure in the leg veins so losing weight can also be very beneficial. Varicose veins are very common and with the help of the above measures many people do not need invasive treatment. If symptoms are severe however the varicose veins can be treated providing the deep veins are working well. A small number of patients develop red flaky itchy skin with brown staining. If this occurs the above measures should be taken to help the venous circulation. If the problem persists then intervention ofr the varicose veins is probably indicated.
In a small number of these severe cases an ulcer can form on the leg if there is no treatment at all. Again the above measures plus intervention in some cases will prevent ulcers or help ulcers that are already present to heal.
A thrombosis clot can form in the superficial veins and they become inflamed as a result. This is called phlebitis. The vein is red, swollen and painful.
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