I stumbled upon this:

"There is a limit to how fast the heart can beat and still pump blood effectively. Since the heart fills with blood when it is relaxing, the faster it beats, the less time there is for blood to enter the heart during relaxation. Thus, a faster heartbeat means diminishing returns in terms of the amount of blood supplied to the body. A dangerous condition called ventricular tachycardia (often abbreviated v tach) describes rates upward of 200 beats per minute. The heart in v tach cannot properly fill with blood and, paradoxically, stops pumping blood."

Is this something like an engine, as VTEC extends the time the valve opens to allow more air(blood) to enter? Or am I just pulling parallels to help me learn?

 

Variable valve timing and lift electronic control...Aka VTEC.
Its just an abbreviation for the actual meaning.

I can almost guarantee it has nothing to do with the heart pumping blood.

 

Of course it doesn't directly have anything to do with the heart. However, VTEC serves to solve the problem of the engine's version of V Tach. At around 4500 rpm(200bpm) the engine(heart) is pumping so fast that there is not enough time for air(blood) to enter the plenum(ventricle). VTEC extends the time the valve is open, to allow more air to enter.

Only if Honda designed hearts as well.

 

except for the fact that if your heart is beating at 200bpm, you are not getting enough air and thus depriving everything in your body and killing yourself. just keeping the valve open longer isn't going to help anything, in fact it'll only kill you faster.

hearts an engines are similar on basic principle, but they are vastly different in operation. the goal of every athlete is to be able to work as hard as possible without raising your heartrate much. and engine doesn't care, if it needs to pump faster to get that extra tenth of a second it'll do it no problem. If a sprinter pulls his all, once he tries to recover he'll most likely collapse because the vital organs in his body are temporarily failing.

I know the old adage must be, well humans aren't machines...but don't we like to think we are?

 

this thread gives me breathing problems.

 

^please dont go into V tach.

 

 

wiki vtec for pics and diagrams of the actual operation-

sliding parts cause increased valve lift (amount open) and duration (time open)
to allow more air in,,and out,, as karanx thought

the need for properly adjusted valves becomes obvious at this point

 

a proper diet of good oil and filter, use of seafoam in oil to clean passages
and occassional use of vtec rpm are a good plan to keep the car running a long time- trouble free= in my opinion

think of seafoam in oil before oil change-- like a cholesterol lowering drug,,
gets the clogging bits out of the very thin arteries so it can flow thru the heart (oil pump) and to the body

 

but unlike a cholesterol lowering drug, i hope we do not have to seafoam our car once a day.

 

New Career Field: Biomechanic
I may be a noob when it comes to cars, but anatomy is my expertise. I'll try to explain without too much jargon. You are wrong, if the antrioventricular valve could be open longer, it would allow more BLOOD to pass from the LEFT(already oxygenated) atrium to the left ventricle. This would allow more oxygenated blood to be pumped to the body. Oxygen is NOT the limiting factor, as the body can revert to the inefficient anaerobic cycles of ATP production. Also, aside from Oxygen transport, the blood's flow allows for proper concentration gradient maintainence via Le Chatlier's principle.

 

^dude while this true, anaerobic cycles of the citric acid cycle would NEVER be enough to sustain a body at 200bpm for much longer than a few seconds. 30+ ATP from the electron transport chain versus the 2 from fermentation. In that case oxygen does indeed become the limiting factor.

and i don't really see how Le Chatlier's principle fits into the oxygen input equation...yeah it's all the rage if you're talking about homeostasis, but we're talking about maintaining the body at 200bpm

 

The body doesn't switch between Lactic Acid Fermentation and starting Pyruvate Decarboxylation. It processes both in times of Oxygen debt. Thus, it only assists. At 200bpm, the body CAN sustain itself with rapid breathing (assuming the blood is flowing).

"... if you're talking about homeostasis, but we're talking about maintaining the body at 200bpm." That is the definition of homeostasis, maintaining the body...

There is nothing to be gained arguing here. There are no subjective opinions with merit. If you have any evidence whatsoever of a person dying due to oxygen debt while rapidly breathing in an appropriate environment, you would have a case.

 

^im really going into v tach here

 

shouldnt this be in Off Topic anyways?

 

Yea, I just thought it was a cool parallel. I didn't see it escalating to biological warfare, so to speak.
^See what I did there?

I won't reply in this thread anymore, and thanks for the being a partner for my banter

 

just relax...slowly step away from thread..

 

seafoam is good with every or every-other oil change,,so 7500 or 15k miles will keep the engine nice and clean inside
vtec works off oil pressure, and oil pressure changes with rpm- to know when to work
Keeping the passages and sliders free moving is important

I didnt think it was a real issue until I cut open a new filter after foaming and 200 miles

 

threadjack:
Red Rice Yeast (capsules) is an excellent natural way to lower cholesterol.
mine is down over 60 bad points!! just from taking that-
over the counter at Longs type drug stores/health food stores,
not expensive script stuff, and was suggested by my MD!

we now return to your regular arguement

 

^lolol