Exam 4 Flashcards
Cardiac
Is non-nodal cardiac muscle multi-unit or unitary?
Unitary (visceral)
How does non-nodal cardiac muscle communicate with one another?
Gap junctions
The “grooves” that allow for more placement of gap junctions between cardiac cells would be referred to as?
Intercalated discs
Are intercalated discs wide spread throughout all cells?
No, only found in the heart
Are cardiac cells multi-nucleated?
No, only one nucleus per cell
The sarcomere of Cardiac muscle is similar to that of?
Skeletal muscle
What are stem cells?
Cell regeneration (replaces old/dead cells)
Is stem cell replacement a fast or slow process in the heart? How would injury (MI) affect it?
Slow process
- Massive injury like an MI would be too great for stem cells to overcome
What are fibroblasts?
Cells that generate scar tissue
When do fibroblasts come into play?
When the stem cells are overwhelmed & can not repair injury
What are disadvantages of fibroblasts?
They dont contract or conduct APs (messes with conduction system)
What can excessive scar tissue lead to?
CHF
What type of drug is typically given to prevent scar tissue deposition?
ACE inhibitors
What is used as a growth factor for scar tissue placement?
Angiotensin II
What are benefits of ACE inhibitors?
- afterload reducer
- prevent growth factor of Angiotensin II on heart
Which population should stay away from ACE inhibitors & ARBs?
Pregnant women (angiotensin II used as growth factors - the babies need it)
Daddy compared the squeezing of the heart to what?
The ringing of a towel (Endocardial fibers & Epicardial fibers contract in different directions)
What is the syncytial connections as referred to in lecture?
Arrangement of heart muscle
- Top half –> Atria
- Bottom half –> ventricle (bellow AV)
What is the difference between Muscle tissue & Conduction tissue in the heart?
Muscle tissue:
- Can produce lots of force by having extra myofibrils
Conduction tissue:
- specialize in conducting APs
- no myofibrils (not used for contraction)
What is the deep cardiac muscle? (inner most) & what is also combined with this layer?
Endocardium
- endothelium combined with this layer
What muscle layer is the bulk of the muscle wall?
Myocardium
What is the outside layer of the heart? (superficial)
Epicardium
What layer of the heart are the major blood vessels sitting on top of?
Epicardium
What is the space just outside the epidcardium?
Pericardium
What is found in the Pericardium space?
Small amount of fluid & mucus
What role does mucus play in the Pericardium?
Allows for the heart to move around without causing friction (protective)
What can lead to friction in between the heart and the pericardium?
Inflammation or loss of fluid/mucus
- Friction is extremely painful
What are the 3 layers of the Pericardium & what are some characteristics?
Visceral Layer
- very thin, clear membrane
- allows heart to slide around Pericardium
connects to epicardium & parietal layer
- innermost
Parietal Pericardium
- Middle layer
- stretchy
Fibrous Pericardium
- outer layer
- Stiff, does not expand well (if fluid get in here it can cause issues as it does not expand well)
Which two layers of the Pericardium are apart of the Serous Pericardium?
Parietal Layer & Visceral layer
What is the muscle super deep in the muscle wall? (found in myocardium or endocardium)
Subendocardium
Where would an MI most likely take place?
Subendocardium
Where would our wall pressures be the highest?
Subendocardium (the deeper you go the harder it is to perfuse increasing pressure)
At rest the cardiac sarcomere is ___
under stretched (actin have a bit of overlap)
What are Purkinje fibers used for & what is their Vrm?
Conduction
-90 vrm
What is the ventricular muscle used for & what is its Vrm?
Contraction
-80 vrm
At rest both purkinje fibers & ventricular muscle are permeable to ..?
Na (not constant)
Most cardiac cells have the ability to __ if given enough time
Depolarize
What causes the resting membrane potential line to not be flat? (slight slope up)
Increased permeability of Na/Ca at rest (Vrm increases as time goes by)
What is the threshold for both Purkinje & Ventricular muscle?
-70
Purkinje fibers have the ability to generate their own AP, but what typically happens in a healthy heart?
The neighboring cell produced an action potential & caused the purkinje fiber to depolarize as normal purkinje fibers take a while to develop their own AP
If there is a complete atrial block, what will the purkinjes do? & how long will it take for generate?
The Purkinje fibers will generate their own APs, HOWEVER, there is a lag time for about 30secs to generate that first AP
What happens with repeated eye manipulation?
Vagal response –> drops HR
- pressure from manipulation sent to cranial nerve V (trigeminal) –> trigeminal sends message to brainstem cranial nerve X (Vagus) –> leads to massive vagal stimulation
How many phases are there in the ventrical electrical conduction?
5
What is phase 4 of a Ventricular muscle AP?
Vrm (has slight increasing slope caused by Na permeability)
What is phase 0 of a ventricular muscle AP?
Rapid up stroke dependent on fast sodium channels (dont stay open long) & we have K channels closing at this time (some stay open)
What is phase 1 ventricular muscle AP?
More upstroke - Fast calcium current through T-type channels
What is phase 2 of a ventricular muscle AP?
Plateau - caused by slow L-type calcium channels
What is phase 3 of a ventricular muscle AP?
Repolarization - slow L-type calcium channels close & K channels open back up
How long does a typical heart AP last?
200milisec
The duration of the AP in the heart is mainly determined by?
Calcium coming into the heart (phase 2)
Can K current ever be inward (into cell)?
DADDY SAID NO
What is Olms law?
Voltage = Current x Resistance
What is ionic current dependent on?
how many channel are open & electrochemical gradient
What does the right side of the vagus nerve connect to?
SA node
What does the left side of the vagus nerve connect to?
AV node
What is the main emphasize of the parasympathetic on the heart?
suppression of nodal areas of the heart through ACh on m-ACh-R
What is the role of the sympathetic nervous system on the heart and how?
It is more widespread on the heart & does have some affect on nodal areas through
- has thick connections with atrial & ventricular muscle releasing catecholamines (NE - is the main one) affecting B receptors
What is the high point (mV) of depolarization of ventricular muscle?
+20 mV
What is the difference in mV between vrm & the high point of a ventricular myocyte?
100mV
What does an EKG measure?
The sum of all the current flowing between 2 electrodes placed on the body
What is the total mV of healthy QRS complex?
about 1.5 mV (about 3 big boxes)
Where do we lose a lot of voltage?
Tissue (air, fat)
Why would we see a lower QRS complex in a pt with COPD?
pts lungs are hyperinflated & air does not conduct electricity –> reducing voltage –> smaller QRS
Angiotensin II is a growth factor similar to that of?
Vegetative endothelium growth factor (doubt we will need to know this but it was a response to a question someone asked)
Would we have reduced hound healing with ACE inhibitors?
No, there is enough growth factors to promote wound healing
What are the type of K channels that close in response to an influx of cations? & why do they close?
Inward rectifying Potassium channels
- close in response to influx of cations to increase length of contraction/AP/depolarization in the heart
Electrons moving towards a positive electrode would have a? (Away from a negative electrode)
Positive deflection
Electrons moving away from a positive electrode would have a? (towards a negative electrode)
Negative deflection
In a resting cell, if electrodes were placed, what would the meter read & why?
0
- there would be no charge difference between the two electrodes
If there was a slight change in polarity caused by depolarization going towards the positive electrode, what would the meter read & why?
The meter would read slightly positive as electrons would be moving towards the positive electrode making the inside of the tissue slightly positive & the outside slightly negative
If half of the tissue was depolarized going towards the positive electrode how would that read on a meter & why?
The meter would read the most positive/highest
- the electrons would have the most current & the most motive to spread
If majority of the tissue was depolarized going towards the positive electrode how would that read on a meter & why?
The meter would read slightly positive
- the electrons would still have current but the motive to spread would not be as great as majority of the tissue is depolarized
If the entire tissue is depolarized how would that read on a meter & why?
The meter would read 0
- there is no longer a charge difference between the two electrodes
If slight repolarization occurred away from the positive electrode what would the meter read & why?
The meter would read slightly negative
- the electrons would be moving away from the positive electrode but would not have a lot of current
If half of the tissue was repolarized away from the positive electrode what would the meter & why?
The meter would read the lowest/most negative (greatest negative deflection)
- the electrons would have the greatest current & motive moving away from the positive electrode
If majority of the tissue was repolarized away from the positive electrode what would the meter read & why?
The meter would read slightly negative
- the electrons would still have current away from the positive electrode but the motive would be diminished as majority of the cell is repolarized
If the entire tissue was repolarized (resting state) how would that read on a meter & why?
The meter would read zero
- there would no longer be a charge difference between the two electrodes
Depolarization occurring towards a positive electrode would have what type of deflection on an EKG?
Positive
Repolarization occurring towards a positive electrode would have what type of deflection on an EKG?
Negative
Repolarization occurring away from positive electrode would have what type of deflection on an EKG?
Positive
How does the slope of phase 4 in nodal tissue compare to that of a phase 4 slope in ventricular muscle?
The slope in Nodal is much greater in phase 4
What is another term used to describe phase 4 in nodal tissue?
Diastolic Depolarization (Depol.)
The faster the rate of Diastolic Depol. the faster the __?
HR
(if it depolarizes faster we should be able to reach threshold faster –> generate faster APs)
How does Phase 0 of nodal tissue compare to that of ventricular muscle?
Nodal tissue
- less drastic upstroke compared to ventricular muscle as nodal tissue does not use fast Na channels –> uses L-type calcium channels
What does the use of L-type calcium channels do to an AP in the heart?
Extends APs
- L-type calcium channels slow to open & slow to close
What is importance of the slope in phase 0?
Determines how fast AP will move to next cell
- steep slope –> Fast AP propagation
- low climbing slope –> Slow AP propagation
How does AP propagation differ in the Atria vs Ventricles?
Atria propagation is slower as it uses slow L-type channels
what occurs in Phase 3 of an AP in nodal tissue?
Repolarization
- L-type calcium channels close
- VG K channels open
(some books say phase 2 is a little plateau before phase 3 but daddy said no)
Why does the AV node not have as fast of automaticity as SA node?
AV node has a lower Vrm –> takes longer for it to generate its own APs
HCN channels can be found in SA, AV & ventricular muscle
List them in order from the most to least HCN channels
Highest in SA, then AV & very few in Ventricular muscle
Why do the APs in the deep muscle differ from the APs in the superficial muscle?
Depolarization begins in the deep muscle & works its way out
Repolarization begins superficially & works its way in
It also aids in contraction as the later start of the epicardium allows for unison
How does the Action potential differ from the deeper parts of the ventricular muscle (subendocardium) vs that of the superficial muscle (epicardium)
Deep ventricular AP
- depolarization starts sooner
- repolarization last longer
Superficial ventricular AP
- Depolarization starts later
- repolarization ends sooner
What are some characteristics of Atrial muscle APs?
Fast upstroke & fast repolarization
- only contract for a short period of time as they only need to pump into the ventricle with little resistance
- atrial walls are thin allow for APs to reach entire atria quickly
How long does it take the SA node to generate rate its own AP?
0.83 seconds
The SA on its own without any vagal stimulation will generate how many bpm?
110 bpm
If you add normal SNS activity to SA node how many BPMs with out vagal stimulation?
120 bpm
How many bpms if the SA is only stimulated by vagal & not SNS?
60-62 bpm
How many bpm does the AV node generate?
40-60 bpms
What allows for conduction between the SA node to the AV node? (What three pathways?)
Internodal Pathways (3 of them)
- Posterior (right side)
- Middle (middle duh)
- Anterior (left side)
How many APs can the Purkinje system generate?
15-30 bpm
What comes off the anterior nodal pathway?
Interatrial bundle (Bachmann’s)
- conducts APs to the left atria
How long does it take for an AP to reach the AV node from the SA node?
0.03 secs
How long does it take for the entire right atria to depolarize?
0.07 secs
How long does it take for the entire left atria to depolarize?
0.09 secs
- This is the Duration of the P-wave as at this point entire atria should be depolarized in normal heart
When Dr. J says “top half of heart” what is he referring to?
Atria
How long should it “ideally” take for AP to reach the entirety of the heart from the SA node?
0.22 secs
Where do ventricular depolarizations start? Where do they travel to?
Start in the deeper areas of the ventricle and travel superficially
Ventricular muscle depolarizes ____ to ____
Deep to Superficial
The P wave is the ___polarization of the ____
Depolarization of atria
The QRS wave is __polarization of the _____
Depolarization of ventricles
The T wave is ___polarization of the ______
Repolarization of the ventricles
Despite repolarization being the reverse of depolarization, the T wave is still ____. The reason is that the _____ repolarizes before the ____.
Positive; Epicardium repolarizes before endocardium
The conduction system is ____ in the heart wall.
Deep
Depolarization of the ventricles is a ____ deflection.
Positive
If electrons are going towards the positive electrode, it shows up as a ____ deflection. If they are going away from the electrode, it is a ____deflection.
Positive.
Negative.
Tylerism - if you add something, it’s +1, or positive (electron going to the electrode)
If you take something away, it’s -1, or negative. The electron is going away from the electrode.
What is a current of injury?
If the heart muscle has an area that is ischemic (i.e. infarct), it will not reset. It is chronically depolarized. There is a current present due to depolarization that should not be there. A current of injury refers to the area that is stuck depolarized.
What tool can we use to find current of injury, or any electrical abnormality in the heart?
12 lead EKG
What about the 12 lead EKG allows us to find where current of injury is?
Many different perspectives/views available from 12 leads, allows us to pinpoint the area.
What causes the delay at the AV node?
AV node has fat which doesnt conduct well & AV node does not have very many gap junctions leading to more delay
Which generates a faster action potential, the SA or AV node?
SA node - it is easier to depolarize, thus has a higher rate of depolarization.
What is the normal HR in a healthy individual?
72 BPM
What is the Vrm of the SA node?
-55mV
What is the threshold for the SA node?
-40mV
Can the purkinje system generate action potentials?
Yes, if we wait forever. It is reliant on slow Na/Ca channels (assuming SA/AV does not work)
How long is the delay at the AV node?
0.12 sec
The SA node is fairly permeable to __ and __. What kind of channels?
Na & Ca
Leak & HCN channels
What does HCN channel stand for? How does it work?
Hyperpolarization Cyclic Nucleotide mediated channel
A few open when reaching Vrm (phase 4). More and more open throughout phase 4, leading to a sloped line until threshold.
How long is the delay at the Bundle of His (penetrating bundles)?
0.01 sec
How long does it take for an AP to go from SA node to intraventricular septum (start of Bundle branches)?
0.16 sec
What does the current of HCN channels consist of? Which one has the strongest current?
Na, K, Ca (nonspecific to cations).
Sodium has the strongest current because it is small.
Calcium also flows through, but is clunky so not as much.
K does flow through, but mostly takes other routes to get in/out of the cell.
What is the angle of a typical heart beat?
59 degrees
Can HCN channels be controlled? If so, by what?
Yes, by beta receptors and mAch-R.
How do beta agonists control HCN channels? What does this lead to?
Beta agonists act on adenylyl cyclase, producing cAMP which is a cyclic nucleotide. Cyclic nucleotides work on HCN channels.
By increasing beta activity, cAMP increases, thus opening more HCN channels.
This leads to a steeper phase 4 slope –> less time in phase 4 –> Faster HR
How do beta antagonists control HCN channels? What does this lead to?
Decreased adenylyl cyclase activity –> Decreased cAMP –> Decreased phase 4 slope –> Longer time in phase 4 –> reduced HR
How do mACh-R control HCN channels?
MACh-R reduce activity of cAMP, which reduces PKA activity, which reduces HCN sensitivity. This decreases calcium influx and decreases heart rate.
What is physiologic antagonism in regard to the heart?
If beta agonistic activity is happening, we will have activation of mACh-R.
Beta adrenergic activity will close mACh-R K channels.
A small amount of hyperkalemia will result in ____. Why?
A faster heart rate; Higher K outside of the cell –> Less gradient –> Vrm is more positive
How do calcium levels change threshold potential?
Not even daddy knows; lots of excess Ca (within reason) increases threshold potential. It takes a longer period of time in phase 4 to reach threshold, which slows down HR in a healthy person.
A calcium deficiency would result in a ______ heart rate.
Faster; Reduced calcium in the blood makes the threshold more negative, leading to shorter phase 4 –> Faster HR
If the P wave is high, you have a problem with the ___ side of the heart.
Right
What is the average length & amplitude of a p-wave generated by the SA node?
2.5 long & 2.5 tall (positive deflection)
If an AP were to be generated by the AV node what kind of deflection would get on an EKG & why?
Negative Deflection
- depolarization is going up atria to SA node (away from positive electrode)
What would be the typical cause of a high P wave?
Atrial hypertrophy
(more tissue = the larger the deflection)
If we have a high P wave, which side of the atria is the probable cause for it?
Right atria
What would be the typical cause of a long P wave?
conduction issue –> typically Atrial dilation
If we have a long P wave, which side of the atria is the probable cause for it?
Left Atria
What is the typical cause of a P wave with a hump?
Conduction issue, an electrical block is preventing proper spread to left atria
If the P wave is long, you have a problem with the ___ side of the heart.
Left
The __ wave is a ____ deflection before a R wave.
Q wave; negative deflection
A ___ wave is a ____ deflection ____ the baseline that corresponds to the ____ of the ventricles.
R wave; positive deflection; above baseline; corresponds to the depolarization of the ventricles
Does every lead have a Q wave? Why is this important?
No; The period of time between the start of the P wave and initiation of ventricular activity is the PR interval. It is TECHNICALLY PQ, but we don’t always have PQ on every lead so we call it PR)