Biophysics of cardiovascular system Lecture outline • Mechanical properties of blood vessels • Reynolds number • Blood flow in blood vessels • Peripheral resistance of blood vessels • Mechanical work and power of heart • Capillary ultrafiltration • Kidneys: renal work and glomerular ultrafiltration • Blood pressure measurement Mechanical properties of cardiovascular system Closed circulation and transport system • Main parts: Ø Heart muscle (myocardium) Ø Closed system of blood vessels Ø Blood • Main functions: Ø Supplying cells by nutrients and oxygen, Ø Transport of hormones and other chemical signals, Ø Removal of waste and side products from cells (tissues) Ø Heat transfer - thermoregulation Mechanical properties of blood vessels Elastic and muscular blood vessels Reynolds number • Blood flow: laminar (ordered) • turbulent (whirling) • Reynolds (1883) • Reynolds number (for a liquid flowing in a cylindrical tube): R[e] = r.v[m].r/h r – liquid density, v[m] – mean flow rate, r – vessel radius, h – coefficient of dynamic viscosity • Critical flow rate: v[m] = 1000h/r.r Blood flow in blood vessels Blood flow in an obstructed blood vessel Pressure in individual segments of blood circulation Peripheral impedance (resistance) of blood vessels • Analogy of electrical impedance (R = U/I) • Pressure p is an analogy of voltage U • Blood flow volume Q is an analogy of electric current I • R = Dp/Q • Considering the Hagen-Poiseuille formula for flow volume (m^3.s^-1): Peripheral resistance of blood vessels Peripheral resistance of blood vessels • Percentage of total peripheral resistance estimated for individual segments of blood circulation: Ø arteries ......... 66 % Ø (among those arterioles 40 %) Ø capillaries ........ 27 % Ø veins ............. 7 % • In vasodilatation, R decreases – heart load decreases • In vasoconstriction, R increases – heart load increases Mechanical work and power of heart Estimation of heart work during one systole • p = const. Þ W = p[m].DV, p[m] is mean blood pressure at the beginning of aorta • Left ventricle Right ventricle p[m] = 13.3 kPa p[m.] = 2.7 kPa DV = 70 ml DV = 70 ml W = 0.93 J W = 0,19 J • Mechanical energy of ejected blood volume W[k] : = 0.009 J = 0,0018 J (since W[k] = 1/2.r.v[m]^2.DV, r = 1.06x10^3 kg.m^-3, v[m.] = 0.3 m.s^-1, resp. 0.22 m.s^-1 in pulmonary artery) Work and efficiency of myocardium • Energy necessary to maintain tonus of myocardium: aòT.dt • T – mechanical tension of heart walls (tonus) [N.m^-1], t - time • Total energy necessary: E[c] = òp.dV + aòT.dt • Mechanical efficiency: W/E[c][ ](max. 10 %) Capillary ultrafiltration Filtration process in capillary loop !!!!!!!!!!!!! Kidneys: renal work and glomerular ultrafiltration •The osmotic work necessary to transfer a substance from a medium with substance concentration C[2] to the medium with substance concentration C[1]. (It is transfer of needful substances from primary urine back to the blood.) W = 2,3 n.R.T.logC[1]/C[2] [ ] •Glomerular ultrafiltration: Hydrostatic pressure in glomerular capillaries is about 6,6 kPa (50 mmHg). The following pressures have opposite effect: hydrostatic pressure in Bowman’s capsule - 1,3 kPa (10 mm Hg) and oncotic pressure of plasma proteins - 3,3 kPa (25 mm Hg), so the resulting filtration pressure in glomerulus is 2 kPa (15 mmHg) under normal circumstances. Glomerulus http://coe.fgcu.edu/faculty/greenep/kidney/Glomerulus.html Blood pressure measurement • Pressure is defined as a force acting on unit area in a gas or liquid. p = F/A [N.m^-2], where F is the force acting on the area A. • In the SI system, the pressure is measured in N.m^-2, the unit is called pascal [Pa]. • The most common way of indicating pressure in medicine is by the height of mercury column in millimetres - mmHg. • 1 mmHg = 1 torr = 133.3 Pa Blood pressure measurement • In arteries, the blood pressure oscillates between a maximum value, i.e. systolic pressure, and a minimum value of the pressure, i.e. diastolic blood pressure. • The time-course of the blood pressure changes is periodical but non-sinusiodal. • The difference between the systolic and diastolic pressures is maximal at the beginning of aorta; the pressure fluctuates in the range of 10.5 to 16 kPa, i.e. 80 to 120 mmHg. • The mean value of blood pressure in lung artery represents only one fifth of the blood pressure in the aorta. Riva-Rocci method Riva-Rocci method • The Riva-Rocci method can be objectified and automatised for patient monitoring. The cuff is regularly inflated by a small compressor (e.g., every ten minutes) and the Korotkoff sounds are recorded by a microphone. Measured values of systolic and diastolic pressures can be displayed (in simple devices) or stored in the instrument memory and evaluated later. This method is called Holter monitoring of blood pressure. • In small children, this auscultation method can fail. In this case, we can use the Doppler flow detectors to detect blood flow in the artery compressed by the cuff. Direct measurement of blood pressure • Invasive measurement of BP is a direct method. A thin, flexible catheter or probe must be inserted into the blood vessel. Its free end usually is connected to a transducer (capacity or piezoelectric) but it is also possible to insert a piezoelectric transducer directly into the vessel. This method is rather risky, so that it is used relatively seldom. However, it is the only method which allows measurements of pressure in veins or inside the heart.