The Evolution of the Cardiovascular System: A Hemodynamic Perspective.

Abstract

The human cardiovascular system is a product of evolution that occurred over hundreds of thousands of years. During its long history, cardiovascular design has been shaped and reshaped by developing adaptations to the hemodynamic challenges it faced at every step. Although being momentarily beneficial for dealing with the problem they were first devised for, the evolutionary changes were built upon one another and culminated in the current scheme which may not necessarily be the ultimate or an immaculate design. Therefore, the analysis of the cardiovascular evolution provides a fascinating opportunity to spot the possible weak points of our cardiovascular system, to better understand the disease pathophysiology, and to formulate treatment alternatives. In this regard, this review tries to summarize the teleonomy of cardiovascular evolution from a hemodynamic perspective.