Cardiac Conductance and Arrythmogenesis and Antiarrhythmia Drugs Flashcards
How is the resting membrane potential maintained?
3Na+ is pumped in whilst 2K+ is pumped out of the cell
-causing a deficit of positive ions in the cell
what causes a low intracellular Ca2+ conc?
the Ca2+ pump and the Na+-Ca2+ exchanger
what is the resting membrane potential of the heart?
-90mV
what is the ion channel permeability in cell membranes controlled by?
voltage-gated channels
define membrane resting potential?
when electrical and chemical forces are exactly equal and there is no net movement of ions across cell
what channels are open at resting membrane potential and which are closed?
K+ channels open, Na+ channels closed
what causes voltage gated Na+ channels to open?
a less negative cytoplasm
what is an inward current?
Movement of +ve charge (e.g. Na+) into cell or -ve charge (e.g. Cl-) out of cell
(aka depolarisation)
what is an outward current?
Positive charge (e.g. Na+) leaving cell or negative charge (e.g. Cl-) entering cell (aka repolarisation)
explain how an action potential occurs?
-the excitatory stimulus causes membrane potential to become less negative
and beyond threshold
-Permeability of membrane to ions increases
-Cell rapidly depolarises
-Membrane potential reverses transiently prior to repolarisation
what are the two types of action potentials in the heart?
- heart muscle action potential
2. pacemaker action potential (SAN and AVN)
explain how an action potential works in heart muscles?
- heart at resting potential with Na and Ca channels closed and K rectifier channels open keeping potential at -90mV.
- Rapid influx of Na through fast opening Na channels - aka phase 0
- Transient K channels open and Na+ channels close (phase 1) causing K efflux hence reducing membrane potential
- influx of Ca, via L-type Ca channels, is balanced with efflux of K, via delayed rectifier K channels (phase 2).
- Ca channels close but delayed rectifier channel remains open to return transmembrane potential to -90mV (phase 3).
what is the threshold potential for an action potential to continue?
-70mV
what is the action potential rate of the SAN?
60-80 action potentials per minute
what is the action potential rate of the AVN?
40-60 action potentials per minute
what is the action potential rate of the bundle of His?
20-40 action potentials per minute
what is the action potential rate of the Bundle branches?
10-20 action potentials per minute
what do pacemaker cells do?
-cause adjacent cardiac
muscle cells to reach threshold voltage –
thus initiating cardiomyocyte action potential
-they have unstable membrane potentials so generate action potentials spontraneously
what do cardiomyocytes have that pacemakers don’t have?
an inward rectifier K+ channel
during the refractory period, why can’t an active potential be initiated and what would you need to initiate an AP during this period?
- the membrane of the cardiomyocytes aren’t repolarised and the Na+ channels haven’t recovered from their inactivated state
- a bigger stimulus required to initiate the AP
what happens during the supernormal period?
when the threshold potential is lower than the usual required to generate an AP
where does the heart muscle require Ca2+ to enter from for contraction in comparison to skeletal muscle?
heart muscle needs the Ca from outside the cell to enter via the voltage-gated L-type Ca channel to then stimulate the sarcoplasmic reticulum to release calcium, whilst skeletal muscles gets the Ca from the sarcoplasmic reticulum inside the cell straight away.
Explain how calcium causes heart muscle contraction?
- Ca enters through L-type channel
- Ca2+ -induced calcium release (CICR) occurs
- Stimulates Ca2+ release from sarcoplasmic
reticulum (SR). - Intracellular Ca2+ rises ~ 0.5-2μM
- Ca2+ interacts with troponin-C
- Myosin binding site on actin freed
- Actin moves over myosin causing myocyte
contraction
At the end of muscle contraction, what happens to the calcium?
-Intracellular Ca2+ reabsorbed into SR via the
sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca ATPase
(SERCA) pump and removed from the cell via
Na+/ Ca2+ exchanger and ATP-dependent
Ca2+ pump.
-Ca2+ dissociates from TN-C and the binding
site on actin is inhibited.
-ATP required to unbind myosin from actin and
reset the sarcomere to its normal length.
how is an impulse conducted through the heart?
- SA node activity and atrial activation begins
- stimulus spread across the arterial surface and reaches AV node
- After a delay at the AV node (100msec), atrial contraction begins.
- the impulse travels along the interventricular septum within the AV bundle and the bundle branches to the Purkinje fibres and the papillary muscles of the right ventricle via the moderator band.
- the impulse is distributed by purkinje fibres and relayed throughout the ventricular myocardium. Atrial contraction is completed and ventricular contraction begins.
where can ectopic (abnormal) pacemakers occur?
-Cells with spontaneous pacemaker activity that
develop more rapid spontaneous phase 4 depolarisation than normal SA node activity.
-Cells that normally lack pacemaker activity, e.g. ventricular cells, and have stable phase 4, rapid depolarisation
what causes an ectopic pacemaker?
change in microcellular environment e.g: -electrolyte disturbances causing reduced resting membrane potential and cells closer to threshold potential - Ischaemia -Xenobiotics
what are the types of spontaneous depolarisations?
- afterdepolarisation (requires a preceding impulse)
- Early afterdepolarisation (occurs during phase 2&3, associated with K+ channel being blocked)
- Delayed Afterdepolarisation (during phase 4 and associated with Ca2+ overload)
What is first degree impulse conduction disorder?
when the P-R interval is greater than the normal range caused by a delay in the AV node conductance
What is second degree impulse conduction disorder?
- type 1: P-R interval increased over a number of heartbeats until the P wave occurs without a QRS complex
- type2: more P waves than QRS complexes but relationship between P and QRS waves is fixed e.g. 2:1 or 3:1 etc