Cardiovascular Medicine Grand Rounds - Academic Year 2023-2024

What most challenged my previous understanding was the vivid presentation of the "dynamic balance" within the cardiovascular system. In the past, terms like "systemic circulation," "pulmonary circulation," and "cardiac electrophysiology" were merely exam highlights. However, when the professor used animations to break down how each heartbeat propels blood through a 200,000 - kilometer - long vascular network via pressure differences, and when microscope slides of coronary artery sections revealed how lipid plaques silently accumulate to form "vascular roadblocks," I suddenly realized that this organ, no larger than a fist, is actually the most precise "power engine" and the most fragile "risk hub" in the human body.

The case study of a hypertensive patient left the deepest impression on me. The professor presented the 24 - hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring chart of a 45 - year - old male patient. During the day, due to work stress, his blood pressure soared to 160/100 mmHg, while at night, because of the activation of the vagus nerve, it dropped sharply to 90/60 mmHg. This "roller - coaster - like fluctuation" made me understand that so - called "normal blood pressure" is not a fixed value but a dynamic balance maintained by the heart, blood vessels, and the neuroendocrine system. Once any part of this balance is disrupted (such as impaired vascular endothelial function or over - activation of the renin - angiotensin system), the seemingly powerful heart may collapse in an instant. This "precision and fragility" characteristic makes cardiovascular diseases the "number one killer" with the highest mortality rate globally, and also made me truly understand the concept of "prevention is better than treatment."

I chose the Cardiovascular Medicine Grand Rounds course because it focuses on cardiovascular medicine, which is an area that indeed interests me especially I plan to take a medicine course. The course offers in-depth knowledge of heart-related conditions and their treatments, which aligns with my passion for learning more about the human body's complex systems. From this course, I look forward to gain a deeper understanding of cardiovascular diseases, including their causes, symptoms, and modern treatments. I also look forward to learning how to apply this knowledge in clinical practices, particularly during internship. One interesting thing I learned from the first lesson was the concept of reperfusion injury, where the return of blood flow after a blockage can cause damage to the blood vessels and lead to hemorrhage and microvascular destruction.