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What does the heart do?
The heart is a muscular
organ located in the thorax.
It pumps blood continuously
around the body.

Blood supplies cells with

the substances needed for
respiration – oxygen and
glucose. It also removes
carbon dioxide, the waste
product of respiration.

The heart beats constantly, and can react to the increased

demand for energy during exercise.

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Structures of the heart

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What are the stages in the cardiac cycle?

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The stages of the cardiac cycle

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Electrical activity

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What is an electrocardiogram?
The electrical activity of the heart can be monitored by
using an electrocardiograph.
Several electrodes are attached to
specific places on a person’s chest.
These detect electrical changes in
the heart by measuring current at
the skin’s surface.
The leads are connected to a machine
that draws an electrocardiogram
(ECG). A normal ECG is shown below.

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What does an ECG trace show?

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Showing electrical activity

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Heart rate and exercise
During exercise several
changes occur:
 the heart rate increases
 the rate and depth of
breathing increases
 the arteries supplying
the muscles dilate.
These changes help to provide oxygen and glucose to
muscles and remove carbon dioxide more quickly.
Heart rate can also be altered by hormones such as
adrenaline. The presence of adrenaline causes the heart rate
to increase, allowing a quick response to danger.

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How much does the heart rate change?
To measure how fast the heart is beating, the pulse rate is
taken. This can be done at the wrist or the neck.

Pulse rate is expressed in beats per minute (bpm).

The average resting pulse rate is about 70–75 bpm.

During exercise, pulse rate

increases to up to 200 bpm.
Pulse rate remains fairly high
for a period after exercise
as the body recovers.

The amount of blood pumped

out of the heart per beat also
increases.

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How does regular exercise affect the heart?
Regular exercise can strengthen the heart, causing:
 the heart to become bigger
 the amount of blood pumped by the heart to increase
 the walls of the heart to become thicker and stronger.

The result is that the heart becomes a more efficient pump.

The resting pulse rate gets

slower as a person becomes
fitter, because the heart
needs fewer beats to pump
blood round the body.

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Pulse rate graph

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Heart rate during exercise

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Heart problems

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Diagnosing heart problems
An echocardiogram is a diagnostic test that uses sound
waves which echo against structures to build up a detailed
picture of the heart.

A transducer is placed on the chest of the patient. This emits

sound waves and detects the reflected echoes.

Doctors use this test to

help diagnose heart
problems such as
coronary heart disease,
weak valves and heart
defects.

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Pacemakers
Some heart problems are caused by an impairment of the
heart’s natural pacemaker. This can be treated by installing
an artificial pacemaker.
This small, battery-powered
device monitors the heart’s
electrical activity and stimulates
the ventricles or atria to contract
when necessary. Impulses are
transmitted down electrodes
implanted in the heart’s muscular
walls.
A pacemaker can be installed using simple surgery. This can
be a simpler and safer alternative to replacing the natural
pacemakers by undergoing a heart transplant.

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True or false?

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Glossary

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Anagrams

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Which structure?

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Multiple-choice quiz

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