Jälkikuorma

Jälkikuorma, a Finnish term, translates to "afterload" in English. It is a concept primarily used in physiology and medicine, particularly in cardiology, to describe the resistance that the heart must overcome to eject blood from its ventricles. In simpler terms, it is the pressure the heart has to push against when it pumps blood out into the arteries.

The left ventricle, responsible for pumping oxygenated blood to the rest of the body, faces a higher afterload than the right ventricle, which pumps blood to the lungs. Afterload is influenced by several factors, including the elasticity of the arterial walls, the volume of blood in the aorta, and the viscosity of the blood. Conditions that increase afterload, such as hypertension (high blood pressure) or aortic stenosis (narrowing of the aortic valve), force the heart to work harder. Prolonged increased afterload can lead to changes in the heart muscle, such as hypertrophy (thickening of the ventricle walls), which can eventually impair the heart's ability to function efficiently. Understanding and managing afterload is crucial in the diagnosis and treatment of various cardiovascular diseases.