Heart attack

What is a heart attack, how is it caused, and how can it be treated or prevented?
This site,
http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_condition_info_details.asp?channel_id=1055&disease_id=163&relation_id=17519
Offers a very detailed explanation of what exactly a heart attack is.
When the myocardium, which is the muscle that pumps the heart does not receive oxygen because a blot clot in an artery is preventing the flow of blood.
Symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath as well as chest pain. These are signs that may lead up to a heart attack.
Irregular heart beats are also very common and may lead to death, such as when the left ventricle does not properly pump blood to the body.
Fun fact; less severe heart attacks can often be mistaken for heart burn.
This website,
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/heartattack/causes.html
Explains causes such as drug use, stress, smoking and of course poor diet that can lead to heart attacks.


And this site also shows an interesting video showing the two main causes.





While I understood that clogged arteries is often a cause of heart attacks, I was interested to discover that it is the coronary arteries (the arteries on the surface of the heart supplying blood to the muscle itself) that may cause this disruption of the heart's rhythm.

Circulation

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QTDf8PKyalU

Here is the link to our video explaining how blood flows through a four chambered heart. Created by myself and Evelyn G.

Collapsed Lung

Collapsed Lung
Today, we delve into the mucus-covered world of lungs. I've searched far and wide, to the furthest reaches of the internet to answer lingering questions surrounding the topic of a COLLAPSED LUNG.
What, pray tell, is a collapsed lung?
In accordance with this site, a collapsed lung is a collection of air in the space around your lungs which prevents the lung from expanding to the size of a normal breath, which, by the way is 500 ml. of air.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000087.htm

You may be wondering how can such a thing occur. Well, should the lung become punctured in some way, air would escape from it into the thoracic cavity, which is bad. Even worse, a spontaneous pneumothorax can occur, which is when lung collapse occurs out of the blue, without any evident cause.
Some people who are more prone to lung collapse are those with asthma, smokers, and very thin people.
Tell-Tale signs of this ailment range from sharp chest pains and shortness of breath to more extreme symptoms as changing of skin colour caused by lack of oxygen and rapid heart rate.
You can, however be tested and treated for these symptoms.

http://drugline.org/img/ail/102_103_3.jpg

http://benich.com/files/LAM.jpg

This Youtube video does a great job of explaining causes and symptoms of a collapsed lung.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-sZzZ4TMnY

Spirometer and Lung Capacity

After measuring our vital capacity through the use of a spirometer, our class got a variety of readings ranging from 2-5, or 2000-5000. My vital capacity reading was 3700 which represents 3.7 gallons of air that my lungs are capable of holding.
 I think the lung capacity of each person is often a good reflection of their physical health. People who exercise regularly will have a better lung capacity, especially if their sport of choice is swimming. Someone with a history of swimming and exercising their lung capacity would likely have a greater reading on the spirometer. There are other ways to expand your lung capacity such as through concentrated breathing exercises, which is all but synonymous to playing a wind instrument. I think that my years of playing clarinet were beneficial to me in this exercise. Another sizable factor is just that - size. The taller the person, the larger their lungs thus allowing more air capacity.
Avg. spirometer readings:
Girl at age 17: 2750
Boy at age 17: 4100
The average person's regular breath is 500 mls. However, we breathe deeper while exercising or experiencing increased heart rate. The opposite is true for times when our heart rate is slower, such as while sleeping.
Breathing out forcefully is different from regular exhalation because when we exhale naturally, that is our diaphragm relaxing and contracting. When exhaling forcefully muscles such as the abdomen contract creating pressure in the thoracic cavity which pushes air out.