Pediatric Cardiovascular Physiology Publisher



Dabbagh A¹ ; Imani A² ; Rajaei S³ Show Affiliations
Source: Congenital Heart Disease in Pediatric and Adult Patients: Anesthetic and Perioperative Management# Second Edition Published:2023

Abstract

Cardiac physiology is the underlying mechanism of the cardiovascular system which works in a beat-to-beat manner, especially in patients with congenital heart diseases. This field has improved significantly as a result of the developments in cellular and molecular medicine. In this chapter, after an introductory discussion about the evolutional transition in cardiac physiology from fetal to neonatal, childhood, and adulthood, the myocardial function has been presented with its three main ingredients: electrical function of the myocardium, excitation-contraction coupling, and mechanical function of the myocardium. Control mechanisms of cardiac function including receptors, signals, and neurohormonal pathways are among the most important controlling mechanisms in the human body which are described afterward. Developmental changes in fetal cardiac muscle are mandatory for anyone who wants to work with patients having congenital heart disease; a full discussion could be reached in the previous chapter of the book. Cardiac work includes the normal sequences in the cardiac cycle, the Frank-Starling relationship, and the factors involved in cardiac work which are described next. And finally, the cardiac reflexes are described which are another main controller of cardiovascular physiologic response. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2017, 2023.