About the heart and Myocardium

The circulatory system in humans is a closed cardiovascular system. It is composed of the heart, blood and blood vessels and uses those components to transfer nutrients and oxygen to and from different parts of the human body. The circulatory system doesn't just push blood through the human body in one big circle, the system is complex and moves blood throughout out your lungs, heart tissues, and all other tissues in your body, regulating pH in your body , and fighting foreign substances .
There are three main parts to the circulatory system. The main part is the heart, this is where the force behind the movement of the blood comes from. This part of the circulatory system is also known as the pulmonary system. The heart is a complex machine which is divided into four chambers, they are called the right atrium, the right ventricle, the left atrium, and the left ventricle. Myocardium makes up the walls of the heart which contracts continually causing the blood to be pumped in and out of the chambers and through the body. When the heart contracts it is pumping deoxygenated blood toward the lungs and pumping out oxygenated blood to the body.

Treatment for Myocarditis

Because myocarditis can be caused by different conditions and infections, there are also different levels of treatments. Treatment ranges from bed rest at home to a hospital stay with monitoring and an attempt to take all stress off of the heart. If the damage to the hearts muscle is severe, then the patient can have a defibrillator implanted.
Myocarditis is a serious condition and the patient should be monitored to catch any and all irregularities in the beating of the damaged heart. There are no current medicines that can cure active myocarditis. The main preventative measure and concern to a doctor treating a patient with myocarditis is to prevent the heart from failing all together.

See the picture below for an illustration of the defibrillator that can be implanted for a patient with Myocarditis.

Causes of Myocarditis

In this blog entry, I will outline some causes of Myocarditis.

The main cause of Myocarditis is generally infection, however there are many scenarios that can cause the infection to the heart; such as:

• VIRUSES

Viruses such as coxsackievirus B, which has symptoms related to flu is the most common virus to cause myocarditis. There are a handful of other viruses that cause myocarditis, HIV can directly attach the heart muscles. Visit this site to get more specifics

• BACTERIA

Those who get lime disease or suffer from diphtheria are more likely to suffer from myocarditis.

• FUNGI & MOLD

Although a rare cause of myocarditis, some molds such as aspirgillis and yeast infections such as candida can cause the disease.

• PARASITES
  

There is a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi which causes a disease by the name of Chagas' the disease is known better in southern regions other than the US, but it is of the leading cause of congestive heart failure.

• CHEMICALS

Chemicals that contain arsenic can cause heart failure

• TOXIC OR ALLERGIC REACTIONS TO MEDICINE

Cocaine, penicillin, and other drugs can cause heart failure

• OTHER DISEASES

Lupus as well as a few other rare disease can cause heart failure, you should check out this site for greater understanding.

Next Blog I will cover treatments for Myocarditis, please come back and check it out.

Intro to Myocarditis

my⋅o⋅car⋅di⋅tis 

[mahy-oh-kahr-dahy-tis]

–noun Pathology.
inflammation of the myocardium.

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart , usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection to the muscular part of the heart.
Myocarditis may cause signs of heart failure and the patient may feel chest pain, fever or suffer sudden death. Myocarditis on the CDC website is defined as inflammation of the heart muscle. According to the CDC website, "Systemic and organ-specific autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and myocarditis , are the leading cause of death in women >65 years of age. "(1) They affect 14-22 million people which is 5% to 8% of the people in the United States.
As myocarditis sets in and becomes deadly, the heart becomes weak and can't pump your bllod through your body as well. Clots can also form due to myocarditis and lead to stroke or heart attack. Because there is more than one cause for myocarditis, treatments vary. I will cover causes and treatments more in depth in the next blog entry. Please come back to check it out!

(1) Retrieved February 2, 2009 : http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol10no11/pdfs/ICWID_SS.pdf
(2) Photo (right) Retrieved February 2, 2009 from http://www.doctorsofusc.com/condition/document/97009
(3) Photo (left) Retrieved February 2, 2009 from
http://www.amyshah.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/heart-failure.jpeg

Welcome to my BIOL1020 Blog

Welcome to my BIOL 1020 NO1 blog.. My name is Nannette , and I am in Ms. Graugnard's BIOL1020 no1 class. My topic for this project is Myocarditis. I hope you find this blog to be interesting and informative. Thanks for visiting.