1394/08/13 Wednesday (8-10)

Action Potentials in Cardiac

Muscle, Cardiac Cycle
at: Anatomy Hall

Action Potentials in Cardiac

Muscle, Cardiac Cycle

References:
Guyton: Textbook of Medical Physiology
Ganong: Review of Medical Physiology

Mechanical and Electrical

Critical to remember:
There is mechanical aspects to heart
function=myofibrils.
There is electrical aspects to heart
function=Pacemaker cells.
Resulting AP from these cells to working muscle
cells causes depolarization and repolarization

How does these cells

automatically fire??

Important Electrolytes
Sodium major extracellular ion
Potassium - major intracellular ion
Chloride - negative ion
Calcium - very important for muscle contraction

Overview of Ion Movement

Normal Resting Membrane

Sodium/Potassium Pump
Maintains concentration
~ 80% of metabolic
energy consumed by
pump
Leaky membrane
Sodium leaks in
Potassium leaks out

The Condensed Version

Maintenance of membranes resting potential

External force (stimulus)
Slow rise brings it to threshold at - 70 mV
Ion exchange begins
Na+, then Ca+ into cell
K+ out of cell

Sodium & Potassium

Channels
Responds to concentration gradients
depolarization = movement away from
resting potential towards or above 0 mV
repolarization = return to resting
potential -90 mV
Necessity of channels

Repolarization
Bringing the membrane back to its
resting state
Active pump moves ions against the
gradients
Sodium/Potassium Pump

This picture shows a neuron

The principle is the same in a cardiac cell

Protein Channels
Special channels allow cations to go through
membrane

Will cause membrane charge to rise towards 0mV

Action Potential Origin

Channel proteins
Voltage gated ion channels
potassium
sodium

Depolarization
Action potential movement = ion
exchange
Sodium moves into cell
Potassium moves out of cell
Membrane potential rises
0
-70

Depolarization

Fast and Slow Channels

Sodium and Potassium ions utilize both
fast and slow channels
Sodium enters cells via slow channels until
threshold is reached
Mass of sodium then enters cell via the fast
channels during contraction

Phases of the Action

Potential
Specific sequence of events
Phases 0 through 4
Important to know what happens in
each phase
Comprehension of pathology and
pharmacotherapy

Phases of Action Potential

Phase 0 =
Na+ channels open
slow then fast
Phase 1 =
K+ channels open
slow

Phases of Action Potential

Phase 2 = Ca+
channels open
Phase 3 = K+
channels open

Phases of Action Potential

Phase 4 - Na/K pump
returns membrane to
rest
Na+ leaks =
Slow phase 4 rise =
automaticity

Depolarization & Repolarization

Depolarization

Cardiac cell resting membrane potential is -90mv

excitation spreads through gap junctions
fast Na+ channels open for rapid depolarization

Plateau phase

250 msec (only 1msec in neuron)

slow Ca+2 channels open, let Ca +2 enter from outside
cell and from storage in sarcoplasmic reticulum, while K +
channels close
Ca +2 binds to troponin to allow for actin-myosin crossbridge formation & tension development

Repolarization

Ca+2 channels close and K+ channels open & -90mv is

restored as potassium entering the cell

Refractory period

very long so heart can fill with blood

Action Potential in Cardiac Muscle

Changes in cell membrane permeability.

Electrocardiogram---ECG or EKG
EKG

Action potentials of all active

cells can be detected and
recorded

P wave

atrial depolarization

P to R interval

conduction time from atrial

to ventricular excitation

QRS complex

ventricular depolarization

T wave

ventricular repolarization

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