Driving Question: How does the Human Heart work?
This is the question that I have always wanted to go more in depth with. This part of the body is so important, yet I don`t know much about it. I love science and studying body parts, functions, and conditions. Last year for my Genius Hour I studied a variety of aspects of cancer. This year I decided to stay with the whole science pattern. That`s another reason why I chose to study the heart for this Genius Hour.
Documentation and Process:
NEGATIVES:
When I first had to come up with a driving question my original question was, "How does the human heart work and how does it react during a heart attack?" I wanted to know what the heart did and what caused heart attacks. My grandpa had died of a heart attack, so ever since I was little I wondered why that could have happened. When I started to do research with my original driving question, I quickly realized that it was a little too specific. I wanted to learn about other aspects of the heart. I wanted to learn about the chambers and how does the blood flow through the heart. I decided to change my driving question to something more broad so that I could still research the heart attack aspect in the research process, but still get to research the blood flow and other things that I am still curious to know about the heart.
After I changed my driving question to what it is now I started my research. Some of the issues going into this project was for sure the time I had. There was so much going on with my strand and there were multiple times when I would have to leave my English class when it was time to work on our Genius Hour. I would have to find time at home to do the research and track down all of my information. If I had not done that and been responsible about it, I would be still be doing research and not sharing this blog with you guys. So for sure time was another complication during this process.
Finding credible sources was a major issue. A lot of the websites that would pop up were Wiki pages that I knew for a fact were not very credible sources. I had to make sure they were credible by checking where they got their information, when they were published, and the description of who wrote the article.
POSITIVES:
When I would find credible sources, they would be very informational. Sometimes these sources would almost everything that I needed, but since I needed multiple sources I would have to find different websites to get the best information possible. Since my topic was something that is very known and there has been a lot of medical research done for it, it was not hard at all to look up and find just what I needed.
Another thing that was very great during this process was the fact that I enjoyed this research process. I did not see this as a chore or something that I had to do, but did not want too. I just had a lot of fun overall because I got to learn new things. At the end of the day, that`s what brings me so much joy.
SURPRISED:
During the heart attack aspect of my research I got so surprised that a just one blood clot could lead to a potential heart attack. That made me realize that having a high Cholesterol is so bad because it could add on and turn into a heart attack. I was completely mind blow at my discovery. I was excited that I figured this out though!
RESEARCH:
This diagram right here is what I decided to research first. This has to do with the blood flow through the heart. I will now post everything that I researched.
What is the human
heart exactly?
-The size of the human heart is the size of your fist
closed.
-The primary job of the heart is to take oxygenated blood
and move it to the lungs to oxygenate it. When it then has been oxygenated, the
blood the blood is ready to be transported through the veins and arteries.
-The heart points to the left and 2/3 of the heart mass is
on the left. The other 1/3 of the mass on the right side.
Anatomy of the
heart:
Pericardium- it
is located in the fluid-filled cavity that is called the Pericardial cavity.
The walls and lining of this cavity is called the pericardium. The job of this is
to produce a lot of fluid to lubricate the heart and prevent it from getting
any friction between the heart and the other organs that surround it. They also
hold the heart in its proper position and maintains a hollow space so the heart
has room to beat.
*The heart wall has three layers that consist of the epicardium, myocardium and endocardium.*
Epicardium: The epicardium is the outer most layer of the
heart wall. It is also the thinnest layer and it is there to protect the
outside of the heart and also to keep things lubricated.
Myocardium: This is basically what gives the heart most of
its thickness and mass. This layer is the where the cardiac muscular tissue is
located. This part of the heart is responsible to make sure the blood pumps
properly throughout the heart.
Endocardium: This is the smooth tissue that lines the inside
of the heart. The job of the Endocardium is to make sure the blood doesn’t
stick to the inside of the heart, resulting in deadly blood clots.
*The atria is a very thin
layer because it does not need to pump blood to long distances, only to nearby
ventricles.*
*in comparison to the
Ventricles which are very thick to pump blood from the lungs to the rest of
your body.*
*The right side of the
heart has less Myocardium because it only has to pump blood to the lungs, while
the left side of the heart has to pump blood to the entire body.*
Daily Function of the Heart:
-Here below is what the
heart goes through during the heartbeat aka the Cardiac Cycle.
Atrial systole: The atria
starts to contract and then pushes blood into the ventricle. During this
process the AV valves stay open while the semi-lunar valves stay closed to make
sure the arterial blood does not re-enter.
Ventricular systole: The ventricles
start to contact to push blood into the aorta and pulmonary trunk. This
pressure then forces the semilunar vales to open and the AV valves to then
close. The blood can flow from the Ventricles to the arteries smoothly because
of the perfect arrangement that they`re in.
Relaxation phase: During this
phase all four chambers of heart start to pour in blood from the veins. During
this phase the ventricles re-polarize to get ready for the next round
depolarization and contraction.
Heart during a heart attack:
-A heart attack happens
when there is the blood flow to the heart is cut off. This usually occurs
because of a blood clot.
-If this blood clot cuts
off the blood flow for sure, the artery begins to die off.
-The worst part about a
heart attack is that depending on the one that you have your heart rate could
either speed up or slow down making you unsure of whether you`re having a heart
attack.
-They can also happen
because of an imbalance in the body, like stress.
-During a heart attack
when the blood clot stops the blood flow the heart becomes deprived of oxygen
rich blood. The nervous system then sends a signal to the brain about the
issue.
-This is why you usually
start to sweat, feel weak, and your heart rate typically starts to increase. As
the nervous system sends signals to the spinal cord you entire body then starts
to ache.
-Patients say it feels
like something squeezing your chest. If you don`t get the treatment ASAP your
heart will die off along with your nervous system.
-If you do get lucky and
get the treatment all the damaged tissue stays damaged, which results in slower
blood flow.
Fun Fact: The heart can still work even if it`s not in
the body, it just needs the proper supply of oxygen.
*NOTE: There is so much more research I did over this topic, but if i posted it all on this blog it would never end!*
LEARNED:
I have learned so much in just a few weeks. I have completely fallen in love with this organ. It does so much for our bodies, yet we do not even realize what it does. It does it all on it`s own! I learned about the blood flow through the heart, the proper function of a heart, what causes and heart attack and what the heart does, and even the different parts that make up the heart. I did not just do this because I had to, but because I wanted too. This experience was incredible and so much fun!
REFLECTION:
Overall I learned so much in such little time. If I do Genius Hour next year I think I`ll continue with this whole science theme. I think it`s good to know a little bit about everything to become as well-rounded as possible. It was also great to research about heart attacks because I got to read articles that told me how to tell if you or anyone is having one and what to do. This research will for sure help me later on in life. That`s why I pick topics like this. I pick topics that I`m curious about, yet I know for a fact that I will need to know this for my future.
SOURCES:
Taylor, Tim.
"Heart." InnerBody.
N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2016.
Bailey, Regina.
"Layers of the Heart Wall." About.com
Education. About Education, n.d. Web. 12 May 2016.
Gillaspy,
Rebecca. "The Cardiac Cycle: Phases, Explanation & Terms - Video &
Lesson Transcript | Study.com." Study.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12
May 2016.
"Common
Questions about Heart Attack Symptoms - Go Red for Women."Go Red For
Women®. American Heart Association, 17 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 May 2016.
