A Broken Heart: Cardiomyopathy

This is my feeble attempt at an illustration of the normal heart with directional arrows to explain how the blood flows through and returns out to the body.


  1. It’s interesting to see a project that spans a variety of ailments instead of a specific one like I have seen so many people do. The report was written well and went into detail and kept in mind that not everybody would know the vocabulary and so broke down the specifics. The paper really begins with the description of how a healthy heart works which really helps lay a foundation for the readers on what is happening to the heart.

    This picture does a great job of assisting the viewer to understand the intricacies of how the heart performs its important task. The colors red and blue clearly show which part parts of the heart, including arteries and veins, deal with oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. Prominent arrows at the arteries, veins, and even the chambers of the hear really help in the understanding of how the blood flows in the central hub of blood flow. I particularly like how the major destinations of the blood, as well as where it came from, is presented.

    The picture used proper terminology indicating which region of the body the blood was flowing to and from. Aside from an aesthetic inconsistency with the anterior vena cava not being consistent with the three dimensional appearance that the artist was trying to achieve, the only real criticism that I can give is that the oxygenated blood leaving the aorta flows to the head instead of the body. Great project, I enjoyed reading your paper and was very impressed with your art project’s skill and accuracy.

    Ryan M Hoskins-Chaddon
    1. Ryan:

      I appreciate your evaluation of my STEAM project. I would like to rebut your comment near the end that, “the only real criticism that I can give is that the oxygenated blood leaving the aorta flows to the head instead of the body.” Actually the illustration shows three branches that ascend from the aortic arch (though not specifically labeled.) These branches are what bring oxygenated blood to the cranium and are named (from left to right): brachiocephalic trunk, left common carotid artery, and left subclavian artery. The aorta does then begin its descent to the lower extremities, known as the descending aorta, which branches to the viscera and lower extremities. So, indeed the aorta does supply the entire body, with its many branches.


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