EKG Lab

EKG Lab

Materials: Computer, Vernier computer interface, Logger Pro, Vernier EKG Sensor, electrode tabs

For this experiment, we first connected the Sensor to the MacBook and opened up Logger Pro and opened the correct file. We attached the three electrode tabs to Madison's arms. And connected the EKG clips to the tabs. The green and black on the right arm, and the red on the left arm. Then we clicked the start button and started recording the EKG. We repeated this process on Chapin and I. The following graphs are the results we got for each person. 

Chapin

Madison

Sierra

I really enjoyed doing this lab because it gave me a chance to work with a simple EKG, which is used in hospitals all over to check for heart health. I also found it really interesting that no matter the amount of times we tried to get my EKG it was always smaller than Madison's or Chapin's. You can still for the most part see the P Wave, the Q, R, S, and T wave on mine but it's a lot harder. Here is an example EKG that labels the different parts of the EKG:

Broken Hearts...and Heart Attacks

             Broken Heart Syndrome (BHS) is the main topic discussed in this article that I found about a week ago, I think this article definitely applies to what we've been talking about in class- The Heart! Basically what this article talks about is BHS and how it is a condition that can sometimes be mistaken for a heart attack. People that experience BHS will sometimes note chest pain and shortness of breath. In fact, BHS mimics a heart attack so well, that when a person with chest pain comes to the hospital and an EKG (electrocardiogram) is taken, the reading will show a pattern that looks just like a heart attack. And when blood tests are done, they will show the typical elevation in heart enzymes. And when an ultrasound is done, it will also show a weakened heart muscle with abnormal motion. All of these are typical signs associated with a heart attack. But then when the heart arteries are looked at, they will be pretty much normal, and no blockage or clots will be found.
            BHS was first described in the early 1990's by Japanese researchers. And they named it Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Takotsubo is an octopus trap, the trap has a narrow neck and a wide base. The reason the condition was named this was because this is how the heart looks during the condition. There is still a lot of debate over what causes the condition but experts believe that things like a bad breakup, an intense argument, or the loss of a loved one can trigger the condition, basically anything involving high levels of stress. One researcher states in the article that women are 7.5 more times likely to experience BHS. No one is for sure why this is, but it is speculated that hormonal differences or the different number of stress receptors in women could be part of the reason. 
              Obviously there is still a lot of guessing and confusion over BHS, but it is a good idea to lower stress. It is one thing that is known, that anyone who lowers the levels of stress in their life, will lower the risk of developing the condition. Being generally healthy also helps, eating right, getting enough sleep and exercise. But the good news is that when the condition is given the proper attention people will make a full recovery with no long-term disability.


Click here to go to the article:

Heart Article

Blood Pressure Lab

First Graph, comparing Blood Pressure.

A couple days ago in Anatomy we did a Blood Pressure "Lab". Which was basically all of us taking out the blood pressure cuffs and fancy new technology to see if we could check our blood pressure. After much hectic trying out of good old fashioned blood pressure cuffs with no results, we decided to try out some newer technology. One thing we decided to try was an arm cuff that had to be pumped, just like the "old fashioned" models, but it was a nice automated model. Meaning we didn't have to really keep track of anything, when it was done, it gave us our results on a small screen. The first number it gave us was the systolic number, then the diastolic number, and then finally our heart rate. In these graphs we compared each of our results using the automated arm and wrist pumps. On the first graph you can see the comparisons of the systolic and diastolic numbers. The systolic number is the measurement of blood pressure when the ventricles contract. The diastolic, is the opposite, it is the measurement of blood pressure when the ventricles are relaxed. This is measured in mmHg (Millimeters of Mercury). The second graph is the comparisons of the heart rate. Heart rate is simply the measurement of heart beats per minute (bpm). It is interesting to look at these graphs and compare the blood pressures of Katrina and I to the blood pressure of Steven because we are girls and he is a guy. Looking at the graph you can see that the systolic numbers of Katrina and I were always lower than Steven's, using either the wrist or arm cuff.

The Heart!

Click here to view my popplet on the heart anatomy lab and some other basic heart anatomy!

Above is the link to my popplet. It explains the heart anatomy lab we did in class a couple weeks ago, and also goes over some general heart anatomy. It has pictures and lots of other useful information. So check it out! :)

Sheep Brain Dissection

A couple weeks ago we did a brain dissection to learn more about the brain, one of the most important parts of the nervous system. These are just some of the pictures from the lab. I really enjoyed this lab because it helped me to better understand what we are talking about in class about the brain. Sid and I created some glogs to label the different visible parts in these pictures. And I really liked this because when we did our dream project we talked about some of these parts, and it is a really cool visual to actually see the parts and where they are on the brain.