Cardiac Conduction System and Action Potential Quiz

Cardiac Conduction System and Action Potential Summary

• Cardiac action potential duration is long due to the plateau phase, which results in a long refractory period.
• The long refractory period provides an advantage by preventing tetany and allowing for efficient coordination of mechanical activity in the heart.
• The normal sequence of cardiac activation begins in the SA node and involves specialized cells such as AV node cells, Purkinje cells, and conducting cardiac myocytes.
• The AV node is the only normal electrical pathway between the atria and ventricles, and its slow conduction is functionally significant for maintaining the delay between atrial and ventricular excitation.
• Pacemaker automaticity and rhythmicity are driven by the ionic mechanism, with SA node cells being primary pacemaker cells and having the highest intrinsic rate.
• The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems influence heart rate and cardiac excitation through specific ionic mechanisms in working myocardium and pacemaker cells.
• Voltage-gated sodium channel blockers, calcium channel blockers, potassium channel blockers, and changes in serum potassium levels all affect cardiac electrical activity.
• The conduction system of the heart involves specialized cells such as the SA node, AV node, bundle of His, and Purkinje fibers, each with specific conduction and pacemaker activity rates.
• The electrical events in the heart initiate cardiac contractions through rhythmical electrical activity coordinating mechanical activity.
• Cardiac myocytes exhibit two types of action potentials: fast response in conducting/contracting myocytes and slow response in pacemaker cells.
• The action potential in ventricular cardiac myocytes involves phases of rapid depolarization, early partial repolarization, plateau phase, final repolarization, and resting potential.
• The long refractory period in ventricular myocytes is protective and limits the frequency of action potentials and contractions, and it ends at the end of phase 3.

Cardiac Conduction System and Action Potential Summary

• Cardiac action potential duration is long due to the plateau phase, which results in a long refractory period.
• The long refractory period provides an advantage by preventing tetany and allowing for efficient coordination of mechanical activity in the heart.
• The normal sequence of cardiac activation begins in the SA node and involves specialized cells such as AV node cells, Purkinje cells, and conducting cardiac myocytes.
• The AV node is the only normal electrical pathway between the atria and ventricles, and its slow conduction is functionally significant for maintaining the delay between atrial and ventricular excitation.
• Pacemaker automaticity and rhythmicity are driven by the ionic mechanism, with SA node cells being primary pacemaker cells and having the highest intrinsic rate.
• The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems influence heart rate and cardiac excitation through specific ionic mechanisms in working myocardium and pacemaker cells.
• Voltage-gated sodium channel blockers, calcium channel blockers, potassium channel blockers, and changes in serum potassium levels all affect cardiac electrical activity.
• The conduction system of the heart involves specialized cells such as the SA node, AV node, bundle of His, and Purkinje fibers, each with specific conduction and pacemaker activity rates.
• The electrical events in the heart initiate cardiac contractions through rhythmical electrical activity coordinating mechanical activity.
• Cardiac myocytes exhibit two types of action potentials: fast response in conducting/contracting myocytes and slow response in pacemaker cells.
• The action potential in ventricular cardiac myocytes involves phases of rapid depolarization, early partial repolarization, plateau phase, final repolarization, and resting potential.
• The long refractory period in ventricular myocytes is protective and limits the frequency of action potentials and contractions, and it ends at the end of phase 3.