Abstract :
When the heart contracts, it compresses its own arteries, so that it cannot supply itself with blood during systole. Its perfusion is effected during diastole by an auxiliary pump, which is an elastic reservoir consisting of the aorta and its large branch arteries. During systole this container is distended, storing energy in its stretched elastic tissues, during diastole it contracts, releasing energy and maintaining diastolic pressure. The perfusion of the heart is absolutely dependent on the elasticity of the aorta and the other large arteries. If they are rigidified by calcification, they gradually become incapable of generating sufficient pressure for the perfusion of the heart.
