Thoracic Key

Pulmonary Heart Disease This chapter is about the way chronic lung disease affects the cardiovascular system. Many kinds of lung disease create a barrier to the flow of blood from…

Pregnancy and Heart Disease Pregnancy and labor increase the workload on the heart for several reasons. The chief one is that the heart has to pump more blood to meet…

Rheumatic Heart Disease Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease were major causes of death and disability throughout the world 50 years ago. Today, rheumatic fever is so rare in the…

The Electrocardiogram Interpretation of the Electrocardiogram In Chapter 8 on coronary artery disease, the electrocardiogram (ECG) bowed on stage because it is very useful in diagnosing myocardial infarction and other…

The Autonomic or Automatic Nervous System Nerves you do not have to Think About In Chapter 7 on hypertension, the sympathetic nerves are described. These nerves are part of a…

The Heart Valves Sticking and Leaking Valves The valves you read about in Chapter 2 are made of thin flaps of living tissue: they can become diseased like any other…

Coronary Artery Disease This chapter will answer five questions: What is coronary artery disease and what actually happens in a diseased coronary artery? What effect does this disease have on…

Hypertensive Heart Disease Definition of Hypertension The word hypertension means “high blood pressure.” (It has nothing to do with being nervous or agitated.) Liquid always exerts pressure on the walls…

Heart Failure Before you consider the failure of a system you have to be sure you know how it works. Try putting together everything you’ve learned so far. Imagine you…

The Functioning Normal Heart Coordination of the Heartbeat, the Valves, and the Flow of Blood To understand an engine, it isn’t enough to learn about its parts. You have to…