Thursday, May 21, 2009

Haemodynamics

The Laws of Haemodynamics are strongly related to the Laws of Stressodynamics. In order to fully understand Haemodynamics, we first need to look at Stressodynamics.

The first (and so far only) Law of Stressodynamics states that,

"Stress can never be created nor destroyed"

Explanation - Stress is comparable to energy in a sense that you can't ever create stress and you can't make it go away either. The only difference is the magnitude of the stress. Some days you're more stressed out than other days.

Back to Haemodynamics. Stress plays a major factor in determining any Haemodynamic parameter. Its similar to how the change in velocity affects the force of an object. The most famous haemodynamic parameter, the BLOOD PRESSURE, is very much influenced by the stress level. Athough there are several factors that affect the blood pressure, the general rule of thumb is that stress contributes 80% towards this value.

As you can clearly see, stress has gotten to me lately. So much so that I dedicated a whole entry to it. The first guess many people make as to why I might be stressed out is my job. Let me tell you now, its not. I actually like my job. Its nice to be able to apply what I learnt in uni and then learn some more.

The thing that really gets my blood pressure up is the 45minute travel between home and office. Its so frustrating, as a lot of you might know. How is it possible that a 20minute drive become a 45minute torture-ride I hear you ask. Simple, its the DUKE's (Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway) fault. Where's the sense in dumping the people from Jalan Duta, and Keramat all on the already saturated MRR2? I do wonder sometimes whether these people checked things out before they started to make it all happen. Sure, 7 minutes to Jalan Duta from Ampang sounds really enticing but even I could tell you that this whole project would cause a massive, daily traffic congestion.

To make matters worse, a lot of Malaysian drivers belong in this one species. The Selfishica Motoristum. Those that are categorized in this species share the same traits. They have no regard for other drivers and they think its okay to use the emergency lane if it means they could reach their destination 5 minutes earlier. They also think its fun to switch lanes all the time and cutting queue is definitely their favourite pastime. They dislike giving signals because it would make their fingers ache.

Wow, just talking (or rather, typing) about it made my heartbeat increase. Despite all the complaints, I always count my blessings. I'm grateful that I have a job to be stressed about, I'm grateful that I can get stressed in a car instead of getting stressed on the LRT, and I'm also grateful that AKLEH (Ampang-KL Elevated Highway) was built. Its like it was made especially for me (10-12 minutes to KLCC from home with little traffic).

So the next time one of you think about braving the MRR2 on a weekday morning, think again. You might find yourself in the car pulling your hair out and making obscene gestures at other motorists.

Disclaimer: The Laws of Haemodynamics and Stressodynamics may or may not be true. I have found that the rule of thumb applies to me but do not quote me as reference if your GP tells you otherwise.