Atrium (heart) Atrium (heart) The atrium is the upper chamber in which blood enters the heart. There are two atria in the human heart – the left atrium connected to the lungs, and the right atrium connected to the venous circulation. The atria receive blood, and when the heart muscle contracts they pump blood to the ventricles. All animals with a closed circulatory system have at least one atrium/auricle (humans have two atria). The atrium used to be called the "auricle", and that term is still used to describe this chamber in, for example, the "Mollusca", but in humans that name is
Heart failure diagnostic criteria has been agreed on as the gold standard for heart failure. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends measuring brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) followed by ultrasound of the heart if positive. This is recommended in those with shortness of breath. In those with heart failure who worsen both a BNP and a troponin are recommended to help determine likely outcomes. Echocardiography is commonly used to support a clinical diagnosis of heart failure. This modality uses ultrasound to determine the stroke volume (SV, the amount of blood in the heart that exits the ventricles with each beat),