The heart uses hydraulics to function—yes, just like a car
It turns out your heart could oddly have something in common with your car: They both use hydraulics to function properly.
Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden have discovered the shared characteristic in a new study appearing in the journal Scientific Reports.
In the study, the researchers found that hydraulic forces are instrumental in causing blood to flow into heart ventricles. They used cardiovascular MRI to measure the sizes of heart chambers during diastole in healthy participants.
"Although this might seem simple and obvious, the impact of the hydraulic force on the heart's filling pattern has been overlooked," said Martin Ugander, MD, a physician and associate professor who heads a research group in clinical physiology at Karolinska Institutet, in a statement. "Our observation is exciting [because] it can lead to new types of therapies for heart failure involving trying to reduce the size of the atrium."
Ugander says in the study that the findings could help better treat heart failure because the condition results in the heart being unable to pump sufficient quantities of blood around the body.
Senior Writer
As a Senior Writer for TriMed Media Group, Katherine primarily focuses on producing news stories, Q&As and features for Cardiovascular Business. She reports on several facets of the cardiology industry, including emerging technology, new clinical trials and findings, and quality initiatives among providers. She is based out of TriMed's Chicago office and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Columbia College Chicago. Her work has appeared in Modern Healthcare, Crain's Chicago Business and The Detroit News. She joined TriMed in 2016.