So, here are the details in a nice little vintage drawing of a human heart:
Since the picture is conveniently labeled, I'll use their letters to give the tour. The aorta is right in the middle of the picture, the big heart vessel labeled E. If you follow that vessel right down into the heart, that is where the aortic valve is located. Blood comes "up" in this photo into the aorta, and is distributed through the various arteries. H is the carotid arteries which go to the head through the neck, and I are the two subclavian arteries which take blood to the chest and arms. (Interesting to note that one side branches off the carotid artery and the other directly off the aorta.) If my aorta is replaced, those three branches will still be there and the whole thing will be sewn up into one nice little Dacron tube that replaces that E part. After those arteries are supplied, the aorta curves "down" and supplies blood to the rest of the body.
it is hard to see in this picture, but there are two coronary arteries that branch out from the aorta right at the very start of it, just outside where the valve is located. I have already had a heart catheterization which checked on the status of those arteries. They are in good shape! So no need for stents or other repairs. My doctor would fix anything that needed fixing while he has me opened up, but since those are fine that makes the operation a little simpler.
(More information below the diagram.)
Since the picture is conveniently labeled, I'll use their letters to give the tour. The aorta is right in the middle of the picture, the big heart vessel labeled E. If you follow that vessel right down into the heart, that is where the aortic valve is located. Blood comes "up" in this photo into the aorta, and is distributed through the various arteries. H is the carotid arteries which go to the head through the neck, and I are the two subclavian arteries which take blood to the chest and arms. (Interesting to note that one side branches off the carotid artery and the other directly off the aorta.) If my aorta is replaced, those three branches will still be there and the whole thing will be sewn up into one nice little Dacron tube that replaces that E part. After those arteries are supplied, the aorta curves "down" and supplies blood to the rest of the body.
it is hard to see in this picture, but there are two coronary arteries that branch out from the aorta right at the very start of it, just outside where the valve is located. I have already had a heart catheterization which checked on the status of those arteries. They are in good shape! So no need for stents or other repairs. My doctor would fix anything that needed fixing while he has me opened up, but since those are fine that makes the operation a little simpler.
(More information below the diagram.)
For the heart cathertization, that was a procedure that happened about a week ago. I was prepped in the hospital for the work, which involved the insertion of a tiny (yes thank Goodness for tiny!) tube into my forearm. The tube is snaked through my arm to the aforementioned subclavian artery and right to the valve where the coronary arteries are located. Then a dye is inserted, X-rays are taken to show the dye, and everything can be checked out. It knocked me a little flat for a day, probably because of all the materials that were injected into me, but the results were good.
Another amazing science detail that made me glad for Mr. Wernz' Chemistry class: the chemical formula for one of the common dyes in this procedure is C-35 H-44 I-6 N-6 O-15. That's a chunky molecule! It weighs the same as 1,550 atoms of hydrogen, and about half the weight comes from the iodine, even though there are only six atoms of it in the molecule.
The chemical name is the mind-blowing 5-[acetyl-[3-[N-acetyl-3,5-bis(2,3-dihydroxypropylcarbamoyl)-2,4,6-triiodoanilino]-2-hydroxypropyl]amino]-1-N,3-N-bis(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)-2,4,6-triiodobenzene-1,3-dicarboxamide. I don't know if I had that one, but there's some pretty cool organic chemistry going on there. On the other hand, I'd prefer a nice glass of red wine.
Another amazing science detail that made me glad for Mr. Wernz' Chemistry class: the chemical formula for one of the common dyes in this procedure is C-35 H-44 I-6 N-6 O-15. That's a chunky molecule! It weighs the same as 1,550 atoms of hydrogen, and about half the weight comes from the iodine, even though there are only six atoms of it in the molecule.
The chemical name is the mind-blowing 5-[acetyl-[3-[N-acetyl-3,5-bis(2,3-dihydroxypropylcarbamoyl)-2,4,6-triiodoanilino]-2-hydroxypropyl]amino]-1-N,3-N-bis(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)-2,4,6-triiodobenzene-1,3-dicarboxamide. I don't know if I had that one, but there's some pretty cool organic chemistry going on there. On the other hand, I'd prefer a nice glass of red wine.