Part 26: Arrhythmia's Flashcards
at a fundamental level arrhythmias occur when these is some disruption in the normal ______ system in the heart
electrical conduction
what are some noticeable symptoms of arrhythmias?
weakness, fatigue, dypsnea
give 4 possible causes of arrhythmias
- tissue damage due to an MI
- abnormal initiation of electrical stimuli
- anatomic abnormalities
- drug induced (inotropic drugs)
refractory periods of cardiac electrical activity prevents ____activity
abnormal
AP from the SA nodes propogate through the atria to cause ____
atrial myocyte depolarization and contraction that pump blood into the ventricles
the AV node acts as a___ and ____ point to allow propogation of electrical signal to the ventricles
regulator; distribution
the refractory period of the AV node prevents ____
the chance of extra action potentials being transmitted from the SA to the ventricles
the AV conduction system provides a delay between ____ and ____ to optimize cardiac output
atrial contraction and ventricle contraction
the P wave of an ECG represents ___
atrial depolaization prior to contraction
the QRS wave represents ____
depolarization of the ventricles
the T wave represents ___
ventricle repolarization (ventricles relax after systole)
the AV node receives signals from the SA node and propogates them to the ventricles the ____
purkinje fibers
the PR interval represents
conduction time from the atrium to the ventricle
what does the QT interval represent?
ventricular action potential duration
alterations in the ECG reflect ___ or ____ in the heart
changes or dysfunction
t/f in some cases, arrhythmias can be treated with electric shock therapy
t
_____ or _____ are used to interpret the abnormal electrical activity in the heart and promote the return of normal rhythm
electrical cardioversion or defibrillation
is the electric shock type therapy used long of short term for arrhythmias?
short term
the pharmacologic treatment of arrhythmias aims to reduce abnormal electrical conduction by modulating ____ and ____ pathways involved in these processes
ion channels; signalling
what are the 4 classes of anti-arrhythmic drugs?
Class 1: primarily block Na channels
Class 2: block Beta receptors
Class 3: prolong AP by blocking K channels
Class 4: block Ca channel to slow AP through the heart
voltage gated Na channels exist in what 3 forms?
resting, open, inactivated
what is the purpose of the “inactive” state of Na channels?
prevents premature re-opening of the channel before repolarization has occured
while the Na channel are inactive, this is called the ___ period
refractory
after an AP, the membrane repolarizes and allows the inactivation gate to relax the Na channel to the ____ state
resting
excitation “out of phase” with the global action potential propagation causes _____
abnormal conractility
if there is damage in a region of the heart that blocks or slows conduction of the electrical signal, the AP may become out of phase, causing ____
uncoordinated cardiac contraction
a reentry arrythmia can be initiated when ___
the AP slows down through a damaged region, allowing time for the AP to loop back around to the branch point and come back in the wrong direction
a reentry arrhythmia can occur because the cells around a branch point are not in the ___ state as they should be
inactive refractory