Chapter 1 Basic Principle, Rapid Interpretation of EKG's Flashcards
Scientific establishment of pumping of heart and electrical phenomena
- Kollicker and Mueller (1855)
- lay motor nerve to frogs leg over isolated beating heart
- leg would kick with each heartbeat
Capillary electrometer
- created by Ludwig and Waller (1880’s)
- hearts rhythmic electrical stimuli can be monitored from a person’s skin
- capillary tube in a electric field that can detect faint electrical activity - find that fluid level in capillary tube moved with the rhythm of the subjects heart beat
Invention of the 1st EKG machine
- Einthoven (1901)
- attaches two electrodes to a person skin
- ends of electrodes connect to ends of a silver wire passing through poles of a magnet
- projects a light bean through holes in the magnets poles across the silver wire which twitches to the rhythm of the subjects heartbeat
- creates shadow of distinct waves in repeating ycles
- names waves P, QRS, T
Function of the EKG
Records the electrical activity of contraction of the heart muscle
Charge Myocardial cells in resting state
- polarized
- interior of every cell is negatively charged (negative interior and positively charged outside surface)
Charge myocardial cells during contraction
- depolarized
- interior become positive
Depolarization of the myocardium
- an advancing wave of positive charges within the heart’s myocytes
- due to movement of Na+ through fast-moving Na+ chanels
Upward deflection on EKG - meaning
Represents a depolarization wave moving toward a positive electrode
Hearts dominant pacemaker
SA node
Sinus rhythm
Normal pacing activity of SA node
Automaticity
The generation of pacemaking stimuli
Automaticity foci
Other focal areas of the heart that have automaticity
Atrial depolarization (and contraction)
Spreading wave of positive charges within the atrial myocardial cells
P wave
Upward deflection produced by depolarization of atria on EKG
Function of atrio-ventricular valves - electrical conduction
Insulate the atria from the ventricles (making AV node the only conducting path between the atria and the ventricles)
Timelapse at AV node
When wave of atrial depolarization enters the AV node depolarization slows producing a brief pause and allowing time for the blood in the atria to enter the ventricles (due to slow conducting Ca2+ ions)
Allows time for the blood to pass into the ventricles (takes time for blood to flow through the valves into the ventricles after the atria contract)
Produces flat baseline after each P wave
Reason why depolarization conducts slowly through the AV node
Due to current being carried by slow-moving Ca2+ ions
Ventricular conduction system
1) Bundle of His (penetrates the AV valves)
2) Bundle bifurcates in the interventricular septum into right and left bundle branches
3) Terminate in network of tiny filaments of purkinje fibers
Purkinje fibers
- rapidly conducting fibers that form the right and left bundle branches and the bundle of His
- use fast-moving Na+ ions for the conduction of depolaization
QRS complex
Corresponds to the depolarization of the ventricular myocardium on EKG
Terminal filaments of the Purkinje fibers - location + what this means for direction depolarization of ventricles
Spread out just beneath the endocardium that lines both ventricular cavities
Ventricles epolarize from the lining towards the outside surface (epicardium)
Relationship QRS to ventricular contraction
QRS complex represents only the beginning of ventricular contraction (a recording of ventricular depolarization which causes ventricular contraction)
Physical event of ventricular contraction lasts longer than the QRS complex
Q wave
The first downward wave of the QRS complex
Often absent
R wave
The first upward deflection of the QRS complex