| Re: Lv Wall
ZOEB, It's related to the answer I posted to rubydoo63's post on enhanced contractility.
Basically, when the heart is constantly overworked or otherwise damaged, the first thing that happens is that it tries several devices to compensate. One is to increase the size of the muscular wall of the ventricles (like a weightlifter's workout,) right ventricle to lungs, left (LV) to body. Short term this helps get more blood out, eventually though the heart begins to pump inefficiently and it begins to fail (I guess evolution made it JUST RIGHT.)
Mechanically, the thicker wall means a smaller volume inside so the thickening is self defeating...then the ventricle stretches to get more volume inside and pumps less and less well. Eventually the big, inefficient heart begins to fail.
Last edited by Lenin; 01-04-2005 at 05:52 AM.
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