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The human body is a very complex machine with many different organs that make it essential to sustain life. Although all of the organs in the human body play an important role to maintain life some are more vital than others. From a holistic view those organs constitute the key component of different systems, that work together and function in coordination to keep the body as a perfect entity in balance. In various cases some organs may not be functioning to their maximum capacity; however, life is still sustainable. The cardiovascular and the respiratory system are two good example of how the body works to balance interactions between organs that are unable to exist or survive without each other. This paper will discuss the anatomy and the physiology of the heart and the lungs in the aspect of how the homeostasis is being maintained. Explanation will be provided on how the heart and the lungs are working and coordinating with each other. We will be discussing the vital function of the heart and the lungs. We will also examine and take a closer look at the American Heart Association guidelines and regulations with regards to healthcare professionals and to Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
"The heart weighs between 7 and 15 ounces (200 to 425 grams) and is a little larger than the size of your fist. By the end of a long life, a person's heart may beat (expanded and contracted) more than 3.5 billion times. In fact, each day, the average heart beats 100,000 times, pumping about 2,000 gallons (7,571 liters) of blood. Your heart is located between your lungs in the middle of your chest, behind and slightly to the left of your breastbone (sternum). A double-layered membrane called the pericardium surrounds your heart like a sac. The outer layer of the pericardium surrounds the roots of your heart's major blood vessels and is attached by ligaments to your spinal column, diaphragm, and other parts of your body. The inner layer of the pericardium is attached to the heart muscle. A coating of fluid separates the two layers of membrane, letting the heart move as it beats, yet still be attached to your body. Your heart has 4 chambers. The upper chambers are called the left and right atria, and the lower chambers are called the left and right ventricles. A wall of muscle called the septum separates the left and right atria and the left and right ventricles. The left ventricle is the largest and strongest chamber in your heart. The left ventricle's chamber walls are only about a half-inch thick, but they have enough force to push blood through the aortic valve and into your body."(Texas Heart Institute)
The heart, the blood, lymphatic tissues, and blood vessels made up the cardiovascular system. The cardiovascular system is one of the vital systems to maintain life. The heart is part of the cardiovascular system, however is constantly working to perfuse the whole body with oxygenated blood. If the heart stops pumping, death is imminent. The body cannot survive for more than 6 minute if the heart stops. The brain will be death in less than 5 minutes without oxygenation. According to the American Heart Association "Deaths in the United States in 2004 one of every five deaths Incidence are related to coronary attacks. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Atherosclerotic Risk in Communities [ARIC] Study and Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). About 38 percent of people who experience a coronary attack in a given year die from it. Prevalence 16,000,000 victims of angina (chest pain due to coronary heart disease), heart attack and other forms of coronary heart disease are still living (8,700,000 males and 7,300,000 females)."
The heart provides the body with oxygenated blood to keep all of the vital organs a life. The heart cannot perform this job without the help of the respiratory system. The respiratory system made of the two lungs and the trachea and alveolar. "The primary function of the respiratory system is to supply the blood with oxygen in order for the blood to deliver oxygen to all parts of the body. The respiratory system does this through breathing. When we breathe, we inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. This exchange of gases is the respiratory system's means of getting oxygen to the blood." The respiratory system serves as a defense mechanism to maintain carbon dioxides. Carbon dioxides is gas when combines with water it form carbonic acid. Carbonic acid can decrease the ph of the blood, which makes the blood more acidic. When the carbon dioxide level increase in the blood the brain send a signal the lungs, to breath faster or deeper to eliminate more carbon dioxides. The respiratory system can maintain acid base balance or homeostasis only temporary. The Kidneys usually serve as a buffer to correct a persistent high level of Carbon dioxide in the body.
The Respiratory system is a vital system to maintain life throughout the body. The lungs carry all the oxygen that the body requires, however the heart pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs; the lungs remove carbon dioxide and adds oxygen to the blood and return it to the heart. When the heart receives the oxygenated blood, it oxygenates the heart muscle by way of the coronary artery and sends the remaining throughout the body via the aorta. The aorta sends oxygenated blood to the brain, kidneys, intestines, liver, and to the rest of the organs. Without oxygen the body will die.
As you can see the function of the heart is very important, however without the lungs the heart cannot perform its duty. If the cardiovascular system is healthy and functioning adequately, and the lungs are not healthy the heart wont be able to operate, eventually it will fail, and vice versa. The human body cannot function without oxygen; the only way for the body to maintain its oxygen supply is to have a healthy cardiovascular and respiratory system. One cannot function without the other, these two organs are co-dependent. When the lung does not have enough oxygen to supply the body the heart beats faster to compensate for the lack of supply. This mechanism is a way the body itself has to maintain homeostasis. When this compensation mechanism persists, eventually the body will start to decompensate, if continues death will occur. In the other hand when the heart fails to pump adequate blood throughout the body, this lack of oxygen in the body will send a signal to the lungs to work faster to compensate for this lack of oxygen. The lungs will try to compensation by working faster. This will be manifested by an increase of respiratory rate, decrease oxygen availability, increase respiratory efforts, increase carbon dioxide in the blood, and skin color may be dusty or blue.
The American Heart Association provides guidelines to healthcare providers to teach cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in other to help save lives. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is the artificial pumping of the heart and as well as proving oxygen to the body in the event the heart stops and when no active breathing is present. Every year the American Heart Association introduces new researches and guidelines on how to improve CPR and improve survival rates after a sudden heart attack or collapse. They also train health care providers on CPR. It is a mandated by law that healthcare provider carries a valid CPR card and know how to perform CPR in the event of no pulse on a non- responsive individual. It also requires CPR certificates to be updated every 2 years to remain active. Healthcare provider who are better trained in CPR have a better chance of saving a victim and the survival rate is better for victim regardless of the underlying cause of collapse. "Research tested 104 adults untrained in CPR and 83 firefighters, trained in the procedure. The findings were published in the June issue of the journal Cardiovascular Engineering, showed that most of the untrained people simply do not apply enough force, said Leslie Geddes of Purdue University, one of the authors of the study. The success rate for CPR ranges from 5 percent to 10 percent depending on how quickly it is administered after a person's heart stops. This is important because every minute lost in applying CPR results in a 10 percent decrease in successful resuscitation," Geddes said. "Time is the enemy. After 10 minutes, very few are resuscitated." (Science Daily, 2007)
The cardiovascular and respiratory systems are two different systems in the human body, but do not function separately. All these organs in the human body are extremely important; however, one takes prevalence over another. The body requires all of its organs to function at their optimum level in other to maintain homeostasis. As mentioned above these two systems work closely to achieve and keep the internal environment of the body balanced. Replication may still be possible in robotics with the advancement of the computer technology but it will require research to better understand the underlying challenge of such project.
Rose Marie Chaperon works a Director of Revenue Cycle for healthcare operations. Rose-Marie's experience is process improvement and redisigning patient access and patient financial services areas. Rose Marie is an exceptional A/R guru and has held many Business Office and Patient Financial Services positions throughout her twenty year tenure in revenue cycle. She is a very proactive leader and the kind of person who can direct a group of people towards their goals. Rose Marie has experience with a variety of software systems and led three hospital through a system conversion during her assignments there. She holds a Bachelor's in Healthcare Management and is pursuing her MBA. She also is a Certified Healthcare Access Manager (CHAM).
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