Coronary Artery Anatomy
Left coronary |
Right coronary |
|
|
Internal structure of the heart
Coronary blood flow
- 70-80mls/min per 100g cardiac muscle
- High blood flow per unit weight of myocardium
- 70% oxygen extraction (compared to 25% for the rest of the body)
- Efficient metabolic hyperaemia - myocardial metabolites generated have strong (positive) influence on coronary blood flow
- Greatest during diastole, lowest flow is during isovolumetric (systolic) contraction - due to compression of artery
Control of Coronary blood flow
- Metabolic
- CO2, PGs, Adenosine produce vasodilation
- Neural
- B2 stimulation causes coronary vasodilation
- Autoregulation: between 60-180mmHg [See CPP]
- Myogenic theory - increase in pressure stimulates stretch receptors which causes reflex vasoconstriction increasing pressure despite rising pressure
- Vasodilator washout - transient arteriorlar dilation following rise in perfusion pressure due to wash out of vasodilators