The Heart Explained

What is Heart?

The heart is a pump made from specialized muscles which form four chambers. These muscles are unique and designed to contract and relax at regular intervals to allow blood to come to the heart chambers and pump into the body parts. The chambers of the heart are divided by a muscle partition into left sided chambers and right sided chambers. The left side chamber pumps into the whole body which naturally requires it to be more muscular compared to the right sided chambers which mainly pump only into lungs. Each of these left and right sided chambers are further subdivided into upper(atrium) and lower(ventricle) chambers by way of one-way heart valves which allow blood to flow only in forward directions. The inlet valve on the right side is known as tricuspid valve and the left side is known as mitral valve. Each of the muscular chambers are connected to an outlet pipe which on the left side is known as aorta and on the right side is called the pulmonary artery. Both these pipes are outlet pipes and there are outlet valves in each of them. The outlet valve in aorta is known as aortic valve and the outlet valve in pulmonary artery is known as pulmonary valve.

heart

The left side of the heart chamber pumps oxygenated blood in the whole body. The body tissue utilizes oxygen and other nutrients from blood and returns the deoxygenated blood back to right sided chambers of heart which pump into the lung to re-oxygenate the blood. This cycle keeps going to keep us alive and healthy.

heart

The heart muscle also needs blood supply to perform its functions of pumping. Blood gets supplied to the heart muscle by delicate pipes that run on the surface of the heart like a network of tree branches. There are two systems, one on the right side and one on the left side. These arteries are known as coronary arteries.

  • Right coronary system – This is a smaller of the two and mainly supplies blood to right side of the heart and part of the left heart
  • Left coronary system – This is a bigger system compared to right side and has a main branch that runs in the front and the other branch that runs on the back of the heart. The left system supplies blood to mainly left sided heart muscle.

There can be variations in the way arteries branch out after their origin. Like our fingerprints, no two individuals have similar branching patterns. Any blockage or narrowing in these arteries results in reduced or interrupted blood supply to heart muscle.

Beating heart coronary artery bypass surgery
Heart Valve Surgery
Valve sparing aortic root replacement surgery
Aortic Valve Repair

resources

Patient Resources

Surgery Guides

We have compiled some useful information for before and after your surgery.

Publications & Research

Throughout his career Dr Joshi has several publications relating to his work.

Videos

We understand that surgery is daunting and scary. It is also a big decision so we want to ensure that you are fully informed and supported.

Frequently asked questions

FAQ’s

Do you do bulk billing?

No we do not offer bulk billing

Do I need to go on a waiting list?

There is not much of a waitlist in private hospitals which is one of the advantage of holding private insurance.

What are the regular risks of surgery?

Please refer to procedure list for more information. Risk of the surgery is based on patient’s clinical condition and other medical conditions the patient may have. The risks and complications of the procedures are discussed in great detail at the time of your consultation.