NREMT Cardiology Summary: EMT Study Guide & EKG Interpretation Notes

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Summary NREMT Cardiology & Resuscitation Study

Guide Notes ( Latest 2025)

Myocardium .....ANSWER.....heart muscle

Septum .....ANSWER.....Divides the right and left chambers of the

heart

Atrium .....ANSWER.....One of two (right and left) upper chambers

of the heart.

- The right atrium receives blood from the vena cava and

delivers it to the right ventricle.

- The left atrium receives blood from pulmonary veins and

delivers it to the left ventricle.

Ventricle .....ANSWER.....One of two (right and left) lower

chambers of the heart.

- The left ventricle receives blood from the left atrium (upper

chamber) and delivers blood to the aorta.

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- The right ventricle receives blood from the right atrium and

pumps it into the pulmonary artery.

Aorta .....ANSWER.....The main artery leaving the left side of the

heart, which receives blood from the left ventricle and delivers it

to all the other arteries that carry blood to the tissues of the

body.

Coronary Arteries .....ANSWER.....The blood vessels that carry

blood and nutrients to the heart muscle.

- left & right; branch at the base of the aorta

- supply the heart muscle with oxygenated blood

Circulation of the Right Side of the Heart .....ANSWER.....-

receives blood from the veins of the body

- the blood enters from the superior and inferior venae cavae

into the right atrium and then passes through the tricuspid valve

to fill the right ventricle

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- after the right ventricle is filled, the tricuspid valve closes to

prevent back-flow after the right ventricular muscle contracts

- contraction of the right ventricle causes blood to flow through

the pulmonic valve into the pulmonary artery and the pulmonary

circulation

Circulation of the Left Side of the Heart .....ANSWER.....- receives

oxygenated blood from the lungs through the pulmonary veins

into the left atrium, where the blood passes through the mitral

valve into the left ventricle

- contraction of this most muscular of the pumping chambers

pumps the blood through the aortic valve into the aorta and then

to the arteries of the body

Pulmonary Veins .....ANSWER.....The four veins that return

oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart.

Aortic Valve .....ANSWER.....The one-way valve that lies between

the left ventricle and the aorta and keeps blood from flowing

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back into the left ventricle after the left ventricle ejects its blood

into the aorta; one of four heart valves.

Chordae Tendineae .....ANSWER.....Thin bands of fibrous tissue

that attach to the valves in the heart and prevent them from

inverting.

Heart Rate (HR) .....ANSWER.....The number of heartbeats during

a specific time (usually 1 minute).

Stroke Volume (SV) .....ANSWER.....The volume of blood ejected

with each ventricular contraction.

Cardiac Output (CO) .....ANSWER.....A measure of the volume of

blood circulated by the heart in 1 minute, calculated by

multiplying the stroke volume by the heart rate.

- CO = HR X SV

Depolarization .....ANSWER.....the electrical charges on the

surface of the muscle cell change from positive to negative