Unit rationale, description and aim
Cardiovascular diseases have high prevalence and mortality in both Australia and throughout the world. It is imperative, therefore, that all health care professionals—including biomedical and exercise scientists, physiotherapists, and nutrition scientists—effectively advocate for a healthier lifestyle; promote a range of preventative measures; and manage, develop, and apply new treatment strategies for conditions. Success in these diverse roles, however, requires appreciation of the morphology and function of the cardiovascular system. The first module focusses on the molecular and cellular aspects of cardiac function, including the electrical properties of the heart, excitation-contraction coupling in cardiomyocytes, ECG, mechanical properties of cardiac tissue, and control of cardiac function. The second module is devoted to the discussion of the structure and function of the vascular system, including an overview of haemodynamics and the roles and specific features of the various elements of the vascular system. The third module discusses the main aspects of integrated cardiovascular regulation from local to systemic level, the main features of specific areas in the circulatory system (e.g., coronary, cerebral, pulmonary, and splanchnic circulation), and the most important cardiovascular changes accompanying physical exercise. When discussing cardiovascular function, this unit offers a clinically-oriented approach and links the delivered content to pathology, molecular medicine, and current biomedical research. This unit builds on previous units that offered the foundations of cardiovascular function with the aim to provide students with an advanced understanding of cardiovascular physiology.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Discuss the molecular and cellular basis of the un...
Learning Outcome 01
Explain the gross and microscopic organisation as ...
Learning Outcome 02
Compare and contrast the main elements of local an...
Learning Outcome 03
Explain the distinguishing features of coronary, c...
Learning Outcome 04
Demonstrate ability to communicate cardiovascular ...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- Cardiac and smooth muscle—from molecules to organs
- Electrical properties of and excitation contraction coupling in the heart
- ECG—types of ECG recordings, the origin of ECG, and information that can be derived from ECG under physiological and pathological conditions
- Homo- and heterometric regulation of the cardiac output
- Haemodynamics, Hagen-Poiseuille law, Reynolds number, and vascular compliance
- Components of the vascular tone and their significance in controlling blood flow and blood pressure
- Cardiovascular reflexes (e.g., Bainbridge, Lovén, Goltz, Cushing, chemo- and baroreceptor reflex) and humoral regulation of circulation including the role of endothelium
- Characteristics of coronary, cerebral, pulmonary, splanchnic, cutaneous, and skeletal muscle blood flow
- Molecular aspects of cardiovascular adaptation during exercise
Assessment strategy and rationale
A range of assessment procedures is used to support achievement of the unit learning outcomes and the development of graduate attributes, consistent with the University's assessment requirements. The assessment tasks are designed to enable students to demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome. Ongoing formative assessment provides students with feedback on their progress and learning throughout the semester, while three summative assessments evaluate achievement of the unit learning outcomes.
Assignment 1 is a quiz that assesses students’ knowledge and understanding of the learning material, together with their ability to apply concepts and think critically.
Assignment 2 requires students to prepare a vodcast presentation. This assessment encourages students to synthesise and communicate their understanding of advanced physiological concepts, apply critical thinking, demonstrate creativity, and develop their oral communication skills while locating, evaluating, and effectively using scientific evidence.
Assignment 3 is a supervised final examination that assesses students' comprehensive understanding of the learning material across the entire unit and their ability to integrate, analyse, and apply advanced physiological concepts to solve problems and communicate their responses effectively in writing.
In order to pass this unit, students are required to achieve a final grade of 50% or more to demonstrate achievement of all learning outcomes.
Overview of assessments
Quiz The quiz assesses students' knowledge ...
Quiz
The quiz assesses students' knowledge and understanding of the learning material, together with their critical thinking skills.
25%
Vodcast presentation The vodcast assessment task ...
Vodcast presentation
The vodcast assessment task encourages students to reflect on the learning material, utilize their advanced critical thinking skills, take advantage of their creativity, and showcase their oral communication skills as well as their ability to search, access, and critically evaluate scientific information.
30%
Final examination This task assesses st...
Final examination
This task assesses students' understanding, integration and application of the learning material from across the unit, together with their advanced critical thinking skills.
45%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit is delivered via a combination of online and on-campus classes and uses active learning to help students understand the organisation and complex function of the cardiovascular system.
Students are provided with lectures, where their questions, active participation, and feedback are encouraged. Lectures aim at helping students acquire the fundamentals of the physiological functions, morphological basis, and significance of all major phenomena taught.
Students are also encouraged to attend and participate in weekly workshops, some of which will be scheduled on-campus to support the completion of assessment tasks. These workshops serve to both assimilate and apply the knowledge relevant to the given week’s topic learning objectives. The different types of learning activities provide opportunities for discussion of several challenging concepts, relating morphology to function, problem-based learning, case studies, group work, and peer learning. In short, workshops encourage and support students to review, recall, reinforce and assess key concepts.