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The conduction system consists of specialized heart muscle cells, situated within the myocardium. [3] There is a skeleton of fibrous tissue that surrounds the conduction system which can be seen on an ECG. Dysfunction of the conduction system can cause irregular heart rhythms including rhythms that are too fast or too slow.
Image showing the cardiac pacemaker or SA node, the primary pacemaker within the electrical conduction system of the heart. The cardiac pacemaker is the heart's natural rhythm generator. It employs pacemaker cells that produce electrical impulses, known as cardiac action potentials, which control the rate of contraction of the cardiac muscle ...
These cells produce an electrical impulse known as a cardiac action potential that travels through the electrical conduction system of the heart, causing it to contract. In a healthy heart, the SA node continuously produces action potentials, setting the rhythm of the heart ( sinus rhythm ), and so is known as the heart's natural pacemaker .
This occurs due to a net flow of positive charge into the cell. In non-pacemaker cells (i.e. ventricular cells), this is produced predominantly by the activation of Na + channels, which increases the membrane conductance (flow) of Na + (g Na). These channels are activated when an action potential arrives from a neighbouring cell, through gap ...
The cardiomyocytes make up the bulk (99%) of cells in the atria and ventricles. These contractile cells respond to impulses of action potential from the pacemaker cells and are responsible for the contractions that pump blood through the body. The pacemaker cells make up just (1% of cells) and form the conduction system of the heart.
The bundle of His (BH) [1]: 58 or His bundle (HB) [1]: 232 (/ h ɪ s / "hiss" [2]) is a collection of heart muscle cells specialized for electrical conduction.As part of the electrical conduction system of the heart, it transmits the electrical impulses from the atrioventricular node (located between the atria and the ventricles) to the point of the apex of the fascicular branches via the ...
Isolated heart conduction system showing atrioventricular node. The AV node receives two inputs from the right atrium: posteriorly, via the crista terminalis, and anteriorly, via the interatrial septum. [8] Contraction of heart muscle cells requires depolarization and repolarization of their cell membranes. Movement of ions across cell ...
The primary purpose of a pacemaker is to maintain an even heart rate, either because the heart's natural cardiac pacemaker provides an inadequate or irregular heartbeat, or because there is a block in the heart's electrical conduction system. Modern pacemakers are externally programmable and allow a cardiologist to select the optimal pacing ...