BiologyCode 5090
Heart
What this topic asks you to be able to do
- Identify the parts of a mammalian heart, limited to: the atria and the left and right ventricles, the septum, the muscular wall, the coronary arteries, and the atrioventricular and semilunar valves
- Explain how thick the muscular walls of the left ventricle and right ventricle are relative to each other, and how thick the atrial muscular walls are relative to the ventricular ones.
- Describe how the heart works by considering the contraction of the muscle in the atria and ventricles and what the valves do over the course of a single heartbeat.
- State that the heart pumps blood away along arteries and that blood returns to the heart via veins.
- State that heart activity can be tracked using an electrocardiogram (ECG), measuring the pulse rate, and listening to the sounds made as valves shut
- Investigate, and then explain, how physical activity affects heart rate.
- Describe coronary heart disease as the coronary arteries becoming blocked, and state what may increase someone's risk of it, including age, gender, genetic predisposition, diet, smoking, stress and a sedentary lifestyle
- Discuss the contribution that diet and exercise make to lowering the risk of coronary heart disease.