Cardiovascular System

1. Anatomy of the Cardiovascular System

• Understand the structure of the heart
• Be able to recall the major arteries and veins of the body

2. The Cardiac Cycle

• Be able to describe the phases of the cardiac cycle
• Be able to recall the stages of the heart's conduction system (the specialised cells that spread the electrical signal through the heart)
• Be able to read a Wiggers diagram (a graph of the pressure and volume changes through one heartbeat)

3. Pulses and Pressures

• Understand the types of flow in blood vessels
• Understand the different types of pulses
• Understand the importance of the jugular venous pressure (JVP), the pressure in the neck veins
• Understand the importance of mean arterial blood pressure and how to calculate it

4. Control of Cardiac Output

• Be able to describe the factors that affect cardiac output.
• Be able to use the Frank-Starling law (the more the heart fills, the harder it contracts) to explain changes in cardiac output.
• Understand the influence of the autonomic nervous system on the cardiovascular system.

5. Cardiac Conduction and Contraction

• Be able to describe the process of cardiac muscle contraction.
• Be able to draw and explain the graphs of the normal action potentials of the sinoatrial (SA) node (the heart's natural pacemaker) and of the ventricles, and to understand how the action potentials change in disease.

6. Embryology of the CVS

• Understand how the cardiovascular system (CVS) develops in the womb (in utero)

7. Congenital Heart Defects

• Be able to apply understanding of the anatomy and development of the cardiovascular system to explain how congenital heart defects arise.
• Be able to explain why patients with congenital heart defects present with certain symptoms
• Understand why some babies with congenital heart defects can present with central cyanosis (bluish discolouration of the lips, tongue and other moist body linings), and why others do not.

8. Hypertension

• Be able to name some causes of hypertension
• Be able to describe how blood pressure is controlled over the short and long term
• Be able to name and describe the different ways that blood pressure is controlled in the long term.

9. Electrocardiograms

• Be able to name which area of the heart each ECG lead records (a lead is one electrical view of the heart) and which coronary artery usually supplies that area
• Be able to describe how depolarisation and repolarisation appear on an ECG
• Be able to calculate the heart rate using an ECG
• Be able to describe how the conduction system appears on an ECG
• Be able to name and describe the intervals (the timed gaps between waves, such as the PR interval) seen on an ECG
• Be able to define sinus rhythm (the normal heart rhythm, started by the SA node)

10. Electrocardiogram Pathology

• Be able to name some common cardiovascular conditions visible on an ECG.
• Be able to describe some common cardiovascular conditions and how they appear on an ECG.

11. Cardiovascular Drugs

• Be able to name the different types of cardiac drugs and outline how each type treats cardiac disease.
• Be able to name the different classes of anti-arrhythmic drugs (drugs that correct abnormal heart rhythms) and describe how they work.
• Be able to name the types of drugs used in the treatment of hypertension and be able to briefly describe their function.
• Be able to describe the drugs used in the treatment of angina (chest pain caused by too little blood reaching the heart muscle) and heart failure.

12. Murmurs

• Be able to name some murmurs (extra whooshing sounds heard over the heart) caused by defective heart valves.
• Be able to describe the sounds heard when listening to defective heart valves.
• Know where to auscultate (listen) to hear different heart sounds.

13. Special Circulations

• Be able to explain the adaptations of the different circulations in the body.
• Relate these adaptations to the function of the organ.

14. Heart Failure

• Be able to list some causes of heart failure
• Be able to explain the different classifications of heart failure
• Understand the pathophysiology (how the disease changes normal function) of heart failure, and relate this to treatments

15. Artery and Vein Disease

• Be able to explain pathology associated with arteries and veins and give the complications of each condition.

16. Acute Coronary Syndromes

• Be able to name the acute coronary syndromes
• Be able to describe why acute coronary syndromes occur
• Be able to name some causes of chest pain
• Be able to differentiate between causes of chest pain
• Be able to differentiate between the types of myocardial infarction and myocardial ischaemia

17. Haemodynamic Shock

• Understand the principles of haemodynamic shock (circulatory failure, where blood flow is too low to meet the needs of the tissues)
• Be able to explain the four main categories of shock
• Be able to name some causes of shock
• Be able to describe decompensation (when the body can no longer make up for the problem and the patient worsens)