Assuming a heart stops beating, what cellular process will be affected from the loss of oxygen, blood glucose, and waste removal?

2 Answers
Feb 18, 2018

Shortly said, cells die.

Explanation:

If you would pause on the circulatory process, about 50% of the blood would be oxygenated and 50% wouldn't be. Therefore, about half of your body will still get the oxygen as a result of difusion ( due to the difference between CO2/O2 concentration in the cells )so half of your body cells will get in the dying process with a little decay.

• Your cells can still survive about 1-2 minutes ( depending on how physically active you are ) without oxygen. After those, the cells start dying and organs suffer permanent damage.

• After the first minute, you can pass out at any time because the brain will lack oxygen ( it uses around 25% of the oxygen the body receives and a big amount of glucose ). At 3 minutes, you still have a chance to be reanimated ( using an electric shock to get the cardiac muscles back to the depolarization/repolarization process ), but with permanent damage to some brain functions.

• If you are deprived from oxygen for 5 minutes, you are surely dead and there can't be anything done anymore. This is a reason why the heart strokes have very little chance of survival.

Waste removal and glucose take longer to affect the body severely, and by that time you'd be surely dead. But, assuming the cells are still getting some oxygen somehow but the blood isn't circulating, maybe someone can give you a better explanation on those so i'll let my answer to be double-checked.

May 24, 2018

Cellular respiration will be affected.

Explanation:

Cellular respiration is a set of processes that take place in the cells of organisms.

Mostly by glycolysis, the Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle, and the electron transport chain, the cells convert incoming oxygen and glucose into energy and waste products.

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The blood delivers oxygen and nutrients to the cells.

When the heart stops pumping, the cells no longer receive their vital supplies.

The process of glycolysis stops when the supply of glucose and oxygen stops.

The components already in the cell quickly get used up.

The waste products accumulate in the cell because there is no blood flow to transport carbon dioxide to the lungs or other wastes to the kidneys.

With no incoming nutrients nor outgoing wastes, the cell stops working.

The muscles that contract your diaphragm and heart and the neurons in your brain cease functioning, and you are dead.