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Cardiac Tamponade: A Poem

What is the opposite of two? A lonely me, a lonely you
Deoxygenated blood is received into the right atrium from the systemic and coronary circulation. Coronary circulation supplies the heart muscle with blood; in addition to all the other tissues, the heart must supply blood to itself.

It all happens in a heartbeat
The impulse for a heartbeat comes from the sinoatrial node, commonly known as the SA node. The SA node is located in the right atrium and is the pacemaker of the heart. The SA node is a specialized area of cardiac muscle cells that posses the quality of automatically generating the electrical impulses that trigger the repeated beating of the heart.

The heart must expand to hold the losses that are ahead of it
The outer layer of the heart, called the fibrous pericardium, is not elastic, so when the pericardial space is overfilled with fluid, the heart becomes unable to expand normally between contractions. This condition, called cardiac tamponade, leads to less complete cardiac filling, decreased stroke volume, and decreased cardiac output.

Nothing is impossible to a valiant heart
Normally, the shortcut opening between the pulmonary artery and the aorta known as the ductus arteriosis closes soon after birth. Occasionally, the opening fails to close in the newborn, a condition known as patent ductus arteriosus. (PDA) Young animals with this PDA suffer from inadequate oxygenation in their blood; in the long term, the condition is incompatible with life, PDA may be treated with drug therapy to promote closure, or surgical closure of the ductus ateriosus may be an option.

All that’s worth cherishing is in the heart, not the head
The brain stem’s role is to maintain basic support functions of the body, so it operates at the subconscious level. It is heavily involves in autonomic control functions related to the heart, respiration (including coughing, sneezing, and hiccupping) blood vessel diameter, (vasomotor control) swallowing and vomiting.

Out of the heart of darkness comes light
Medications used to treat congestive heart failure include cardiac glycosides to increase the strength of cardiac contractions, diuretics to promote elimination of extra fluid to relieve edema, and vasodilators to enhance blood flow to the organs and decrease vascular resistance to outflow from the heart. CHF in pets cannot be cured, but it can often be medically managed to improve the quality of the animals’ life.

If you want to know me, look inside your heart
In dogs and cats the heart lies between the third and seventh ribs, and in cattle and horses it lies between the third and seventh ribs. In all species the heart is auscultated through the chest wall, usually with a stethoscope.

A light heart lives long
With the first breath after birth, the lungs inflate, and the newborn begins to oxygenate its own blood. In a normal neonate, the ductus venosus constricts so that blood no longer bypasses the liver, and the foramen ovale and the ductus ateriosus close so that the heart may no longer bypass the lungs

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen
Cardiac output, the amount of blood that leaves the heart, is determined by two factors; stroke volume, which is the amount of blood ejected with each cardiac contraction, and heart rate, or how often the heart contracts

Great hearts steadily send forth the secret forces that draw great events
The autonomic nervous system can also influence cardiac output in other situations. For example, during the fight or flight response to a perceived threat, the sympathetic nervous system releases epinephrine (adrenaline) which increases stroke volume (by increasing the strength of the contractions) and heart rate to prepare the body for increased cardiac output that will be needed to flee or fight the threat.

 

Cardiac Tamponade: A Poem

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