Cardiac muscle the walls of a house contain electrical wires and plumbing, cardiac muscle also contains specialised cells for conducting electrical signals rapidly (the cardiac conduction system), and blood vessels to bring nutrients to the muscle cells and take away waste products (the coronary arteries, veins and capillary network). Cardiac muscle cells or cardiomyocytes are the contracting cells which allow the heart to pump. Each cardiomyocyte needs to contract in coordination with its neighbouring cells to efficiently pump blood from the heart, and if this coordination breaks down then – despite individual cells contracting – the heart may not pump at all,
Hemodynamics the "capacitance vessels" of the body because over 70% of the blood volume resides in the venous system. Veins are more compliant than arteries and expand to accommodate changing volume. The blood pressure in the circulation is principally due to the pumping action of the heart. The pumping action of the heart generates pulsatile blood flow, which is conducted into the arteries, across the micro-circulation and eventually, back via the venous system to the heart. During each heartbeat, systemic arterial blood pressure varies between a maximum (systolic) and a minimum (diastolic) pressure. In physiology, these are often simplified into one