Cardiac Muscle Flashcards
Specialized functional requirements of the cardiac muscle:
-must pump blood continuously: intrinsic pacemaker
-entire muscle must contract AND relax with each beat
(tetanic contraction would be fatal because the heart needs to refill) : gap junctions, conduction system, and prolonged AP
-must adapt quickly to changes in demand (exercise, trauma, infection, etc): contractility is modulated by preload/heart rate/beta adrenergic
Intrinsic pacemakers
- needed for continuous pumping
- SA and AV node, no true resting potential and results in spontaneous action potential
Synchronized contraction:
-needs efficient impulse conduction
-simultaneous activation of septum, RV, and LV free walls
(via HIs-purkinje network)
-gap junction and intercalated disks help
AV Node
-impulse conduction is slower to allow for time for atrial contraction to fill the ventricles
Gap junctions for efficient impulse:
-provide highly conductive electrical connections between adjacent cardiac myocytes
Intercalated disks:
-provide mechanical and electrical junctions between cells arranged end to end
How do myocytes prevent continuous stimulation
- via refractory period
- a long plateau phase and delayed repolarization produce prolonged period of absolute refractoriness to restimulation
- this prevents tetanic contraction
Effects of faster stimulation frequency on action potential
- shortens the duration of the action potential so increased heart beat can occur despite refractory period
- refractory period could cause inability to have faster heart rate during stress but rate dependent shortening of AP duration bypasses this
Cardiac muscle characteristics
- 1/2 nuclei per cell
- ANS
- connected electrically to adjacent cells
- partial activation NOT possible
Calcium induced calcium release in cardiac muscles
- depolarization results in extracellular calcium influx (via L type voltage gated channel) close to the SR
- Ryanodine receptor on SR is calcium sensitive and triggers the release of much more intracellular calcium stores
- initiates contraction
Steady state maintenance of calcium in cardiac muscle cells:
EXTRACELLULAR CALCIUM:
- calcium in via L type Ca Channel
- calcium out via Na/Ca exchanger
INTRACELLULAR CALCIUM:
- calcium released by SR (RyR)
- calcium reuptake via SR (SERCA)
Cardiac Myosin II isoforms:
- 3 different isoforms V1 (max velocity of shortening is the highest) V2, V3 (shortest)
- 3 different isoforms because there are TWO myosin heavy chain forms (and 2 MHC/molecule)
Passive muscle properties:
- as resting cardiac muscle is stretched, tension increases exponentially
- this is the tension due to connective tissue of the muscle
Active muscle properties:
- increasing length increases tension (force)
- this is the tension due to the interaction of myosin and actin
Starling’s Law of the heart:
- increasing the blood to the heart stretches the ventricle (increase length) which results in more forceful ejection (increased tension)
- the heart pumps out the volume of blood it receives (more blood when exercising)
- relationship between end-diastolic volume and cardiac ejection volume (beat by beat basis)
Diastole:
- relaxation, refilling with blood
- mitral valve opens, inflow to left ventricle
- end of diastole volume/pressure is greatly increased
Systole:
-contraction, volume decreases
Cardiac muscle length-tension
- cardiac muscle has a greater resistance to passive stretch (very stiff when sarcomere length is above or below maximal active force development)
- the curve has little or NO descending limb
Isometric versus isotonic:
- isometric: contraction of the left ventricle when all the valves are closed (no muscle shortening)
- isotonic: contraction of the ventricle as blood is forced into the aorta, against pressure
- isometric l/t curve provides limit for the isotonic performance *same final tensions
Frank-Starling Mechanism:
-positive relationship between sarcomere length and developed tension
Mechanisms contributing to Starling’s Law
- increasing the number of possible cross-bridges (more favorable position on the length-tension curve)
- calcium sensitivity of contraction is length dependent
- calcium release is length dependent
Length and Calcium sensitivity
relationship between intracellular calcium concentration and isometric force is positive
-as length increases there is an increase in calcium sensitivity (increase in force for the same calcium concentration)
Force response and calcium release:
- cardiac cells can alter force responses to a given level of calcium release by:
- length dependent calcium affinity of the troponin complex (increase length, increase affinity)
-neuro-endocrine modulation:
Phosphorylation of TnI, RLC, C-protein, phospholamban
Impact of afterload on performance:
- afterload is Vmax
- increasing afterload tends to restrain the contractile performance and reduce contractile efficiency
Efficiency:
amount of shortening (work x tension) per unit of energy consumed
Series elastic element:
- during initial muscle contraction, forces related to series elastic elements must be overcome before there can be external shortening (work) - at this time there is no increase in force though (afterload)
- sources: titin or extracellular matrix collagen
Force-frequency response (Treppe)
cardiac force is a function of the calcium concentration and therefore, stimulation frequency
-as the interval between stimuli decreases, the force increases
Positive force-frequency response:
- normal heart
- increase in force as the stimulation rate increases
Negative force-frequency response:
- failing heart
- force does not increase as stimulation frequency increases
How does increased frequency increase force?
- increased stimulation rate increases calcium influx via L-type channel
- SERCA and NCX (Na/Ca pump out of the cell) compete for the increase in calcium
- SERCA > NCX then INCREASED CONTRACTILITY (positive response)
- SERCA < NCX then DECREASED CONTRACTILITY (negative response)
Cardiac responses to B1 adrenergic stimulation:
- stimulates sinus node and increases heart rate which increases contractility (force-frequency)
- more beats
- B1 mediated phosphorylation of L-type channel, phospholamban, and RyR all favor larger calcium concentration inside the cell and increased systolic force generation
- stronger beats
- phosphorylation of phospholamban and troponin I/T favor faster relaxation, required with faster beat
- faster relaxation
-IE: more beats, stronger beats, faster relaxation = increased cardiac output
Effect of increased sympathetic stimulation:
- increase rate of pressure development
- increase rate of relaxation
- during Beta adrenergic stimulation there is DECREASED sensitivity to calcium
Adrenergic Modulation of myocardial contractility:
- marked increase in the peak intracellular calcium
- increase rate of rise/fall of intracellular calcium
- increase peak force, rate of force development, and increase relaxation
- ratio of peak calcium concentration to peak force decreases
- inotropy (contractility independent of preload/afterload): positive ionotropic stimulus (left and up shift of length tension - more contractility)
What does increasing preload do:
increases active tension
increases passive force
*little effect on relaxation
What does increasing afterload do:
reduces the extent/rate of shortening
variable effect on relaxation
What does increasing stimulation frequency do:
increases force development
increases relaxation rate (shorter action potential)
What does increasing adrenergic stimulation do:
increases force development
increases rate of relaxation
Cardiac Cycle:
diastolic filling (p-wave)
isovolumetric contraction: (QRS)
Ejection: intraventricular pressure is greater than aortic pressure) (t wave = repolarization and relaxation) Once pressure no longer greater, valves close
isovolumetric relaxation: pressure continues to decrease, mitral and aortic valves are closes
*once the atrial pressure begins to exceed ventricular again, mitral valve opens and diastolic filling restarts