A key aspect of how our beating hearts have been understood in a recent study.
For centuries physics behind the work of hearts has slipped away from the scientists. No one has ever been able to fully explain how the heart is filled with blood. The answer scientists have come up with, after a new study, lies in one of the laws of physics.
Scientists at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden have used cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging to track the dimensions of heart chambers while beating and have shown that the process is largely due to hydraulic forces.
"Although it may seem obvious and simple, the impact of the hydraulic forces on the way the heart is filled with blood has so far been overlooked," explains lead scientist Martin Ugander.
So far, biologists have known that there is a protein in the muscle tissue of the heart called a titanium that acts as a spring and releases elastic energy that drives the cells to fill with blood. But only this spring action can not explain the rapid filling that we observe.
The technique used by scientists allowed them to make physical models of heart chambers and explain what is actually happening from the point of view of the laws of physics.
They have found that in 10 to 60% of the peak propulsion power that fills the left ventricle during diastole does not come from the relaxation of the heart muscle. And it comes from a hydraulic force - the pressure that fluid exerts on a surface.
"The geometry of the heart determines the magnitude of the power. Hydraulic forces that help the heart chambers fill with blood arise as a consequence of the fact that the atrium (atrium) is smaller than the camera, "the scientists explain.
Thanks to the study, it is already clear that if the atrium becomes larger than the heart chamber, this reduces the hydraulic power and hence the ability of the heart to be filled with blood.
"We think this will be an important part of the diagnosis and treatment of the heart and problems with its function."