MEDFL5145 – Cardiac mechanics
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
This is an in-depth four-day course in cardiac mechanics for heart researchers and clinicians interested in hemodynamic theory and cardiac mechanics.
The course will provide a comprehensive review of key concepts in cardiac mechanics. Heart researchers and clinical cardiologists need to know key concepts and terms to measure and describe heart function, such as myocardial deformation, afterload, contractility, relaxation constant (tau), etc. This course will provide a comprehensive review of these topics.
The course is aimed at clinical and translational researchers with an interest in cardiac mechanics and hemodynamic theory. The course plan will be covered in lectures and practical training by analyzing and performing calculations on distributed measurement data.
Learning outcome
The topics that will be covered in the course are:
- Myocardial deformation
- Tau - the time constant for exponential pressure drop
- End-diastolic pressure-volume relationship
- Contractility & end-systolic pressure-volume relationship
- Preload
- Afterload
- Suction & restoring forces
- Frank-Starling effect
- Myocardial and ventricular efficiency
See this list for details: Cardiac Mechanics Curriculum details 2024
Admission
MEDFL5145 is reserved for students at the Medical Student Research Programme at the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Dentistry, UiO.
Maximum number of particpants: 20.
Students sign up for classes and exam to this course in StudentWeb.
Applicants will upon registration receive an immediate reply in StudentWeb as to whether a seat at this course is granted or not.
Prerequisites
Formal prerequisite knowledge
- Planned or started research project in cardiovascular medicine/physiology.
- Basic knowledge in circulation physiology equivalent to chapter 7 in Human Biology, Starr & McMillan.
Recommended previous knowledge
Recommended reading prior to the course:
- Burkhoff, Daniel. (2011). Mechanical properties of the heart and its interaction with the vascular system. Cardiac Physiol. Pages 1-28.
- Nicolaas Westerhof , Nikolaos Stergiopulos , Mark I.M. Noble , Berend E. Westerhof. Snapshots of Hemodynamics - Aid for Clinical Research and Graduate Education. Third edition: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-91932-4
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Bastos MB, Burkhoff D, Maly J, Daemen J, den Uil CA, Ameloot K, Lenzen M, Mahfoud F, Zijlstra F, Schreuder JJ, Van Mieghem NM. Invasive left ventricle pressure-volume analysis: overview and practical clinical implications. Eur Heart J. 2020 Mar 21;41(12):1286-1297. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehz552. PMID: 31435675; PMCID: PMC7084193.
Teaching
Lectures with a high degree of activation of the course participants.
Half a day is set aside to look at and analyze echocardiographic images.
Measurement data will be distributed, mostly on spreadsheets, which the students will analyze and extract the desired parameters from the data.
Examination
Take-home exam:
- A report with answers to questions and analysis of measurement data
- To be submitted 2 weeks after the course.
Submit assignments in Inspera
You submit your assignment in the digital examination system Inspera. Read about how to submit your assignment.
Use of sources and citation
You should familiarize yourself with the rules that apply to the use of sources and citations. If you violate the rules, you may be suspected of cheating/attempted cheating.
Language of examination
English or Norwegian
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system.
Explanations and appeals
Resit an examination
Withdrawal from an examination
It is possible to take the exam up to 3 times. If you withdraw from the exam after the deadline or during the exam, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
Special examination arrangements
Application form, deadline and requirements for special examination arrangements.
Evaluation
The course is subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students to participate in a more comprehensive evaluation.