A Little Education

I've decided to post some educational information based on what we have narrowed my conditions down to. Though you may have the same symptoms, you may not have the same condition. None of the information I'm listing is meant to be used for self diagnosis. Please work with a professional to determine the cause of your symptoms.

We have determined that my symptoms are most likely related to issues with my heart and/or autonomic nervous system (specifically the vagus nerve). Below is information about the heart and how it works. In a separate posting I will detail information about the autonomic nervous system and the vagus nerves involvement in the body.


These are illustrations of the front surface of the heart (top left), the internal anatomy of the heart (top right), and the electrical wiring of the heart (bottom). Click images to enlarge them.

Here is a simplified explanation of how the heart works:

Heart Pumping
The beating/pumping of the heart is controlled by the electrical system. This begins with and electrical impulse at the sinoatrial (SA) node. The electrical signal that is initiated from the SA node spreads across the right and left atrium causing it to contract and push the blood that they contain into the right and left ventricles. The electrical impulse the passes through the atrioventricular (AV) node to the ventricles which causes both ventricles to contract and pump the blood out to the lungs and the rest of the body.

Blood Flow
There are two courses that the blood runs through. There is pulmonary circulation (Right Side) and systemic circulation (Left Side).

Right Side
Deoxygenated blood flows into the right atrium from the superior and inferior vena cava. The blood then flows into the right ventricle through the right atrioventricular (AV) valve (a.k.a. tricuspid valve) which closes when the right ventricle contracts to keep blood from flowing back into the atrium. The right ventricle contracts and pumps the deoxygenated blood through the pulmonic valve into the pulmonary artery which carries the blood to the lungs to be oxygenated.

Left Side
Oxygenated blood flows into the left atrium via the pulmonary veins. The left atrium contracts and pushes the blood through the left AV valve (a.k.a. bicuspid valve). At this piont, the left ventricle really squeezes and pushes the oxygenated blood through the aortic valve into the aorta, which branches into other arteries. The blood flows through the blood vessels to the rest of the body.