Topic 11: Cardiovascular Physiology Flashcards
Cardiac Physiology Parts
- Heart
- Conduction System
Heart
- dual pump with valves
- muscle cells connected by gap junctions
Conduction System
- non-contractile cardiac muscle cells – modified to initiate & distribute impulses throughout the heart
- produce APs spontaneously (no stimulus) BUT at different rates
Conduction System Parts
- Sinoatrial (SA) node – in right atrium
- Atrioventricular (AV) node – in right atrium
- Bundle of His (AV bundle)
- Purkinje fibers
Sinoatrial (SA) node
- rate = 100 APs/min (modified by PSNS to be 75 APs/min at rest)
- produces APs faster than other areas ∴ is the pacemaker
Atrioventricular (AV) node
-rate = 50 APs/min
Bundle of His (AV bundle)
- originates at AV node
- ONLY route for electrical activity to go from atria to ventricles + Bundle Branches (right and left)
- 30 APs/min
Purkinje fibers
- terminal fibers - stimulate contraction of the ventricular myocardium
- 30 APs/min
Pathway of APs in heart
- Interatrial
- Intermodal
- If conduction system damaged, next fastest part becomes pacemaker
i. e. if SA node damaged, AV node takes over (atria may not contract + ventricles contract at AV speed = 50 beats/min) - Artificial pacemakers – stim. if SA or AV nodes damaged
Interatrial
SA node through atrial contractile myocardium (rt and left) contract as a unit (gap junctions)
Intermodal
- SA node to AV node (delay of 0.1 sec to get through node due to small fibre size-allows vent. to fill with blood from atrial contraction)
- To bundle of his
- bundle branches
- purkinjie fibers
- Ventricular contractile myocardium (starts at apex, contracts as a unit-gap junctions)
APs of SA & AV nodes
- cells = non-contractile autorhythmic cardiac muscle cells (self-excitable)
- threshold = -40mV
Phases of Pacemaker Activity
- Pacemaker Potential
- AP Depolarization
- AP Repolarization
- Na+ channels open at -50 mV
Pacemaker Potential
- low K+ permeability (K+ voltage gates closed)
- slow inward leak of Na+ (Na+ voltage gates open)
- causes slow depolarization toward threshold (-40mV)
AP Depolarization
- at threshold ⇒ AP
- Ca2+ voltage gates open - Ca2+ moves in ⇒ depol. (Na+ voltage-gates close at threshold ∴ not involved in AP)
- Ca2+ voltage gates close at peak
AP Repolarization
- K+ voltage gates open at peak, K+ out ⇒ repol.
- K+ gates close below threshold
APs in Ventricular Myocardium
o cells = contractile
o Purkinje fiber AP ⇒ ventricular (contractile) myocardial AP (spread cell to cell by gap junctions)
o resting MP = -90mV
o Phases of Ventricular Myocardial APs
1) Depolarization
2) Plateau
3) Repolarization
1) Depolarization
Na+ voltage gates open (fast) = same gates as neuron, skel. muscle
MP to +30 mV
2) Plateau
Na+ channels close + inactivate (slight drop in MP)
Ca2+ slow voltage gates are open (Ca2+ influx maintains depolarization)
3) Repolarization
Ca2+ channels close
K+ voltage-gated channels open ⇒ ⇑ K+ outflux ⇒ ∴ MP ⇓ to resting
o Absolute Refractory Period
Long - Na+ channels inactivated until MP is close to - 70 mV
o Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Myocardial Cells
1) AP on sarcolemma of contractile cell triggers…
2) voltage-gated Ca2+ channels open (plateau of AP) = small ⇑ cytosolic Ca2+ (from ECF) ⇒ not enough to trigger contraction BUT…
3) opens chemically-gated Ca2+ channels on SR
4) ⇑⇑ cytosolic Ca2+
5) binds to troponin, etc, etc ⇒ leads to contraction
6) Contraction
6) Contraction
sliding filament mechanism
begins a few msec after AP begins
duration of AP = ~250 msec and duration of twitch = ~ 300 msec
∴ contraction almost over when AP ends
Result = NO summation ∴ NO tetanus - get alternation of contraction/relaxation