Anatomy of a Heartbeat
posted April 18, 2008 - 1:25pmEver wonder about that thing fluttering away in your chest pushing blood throughout your body? Your heart is an amazing pump of exquisite design form and function. But how does it work?
Today, I would like to tell you about the anatomy of a heartbeat. Not the physical anatomy of the heart. But the conduction of the heart through it's various pathways.
It all starts in your right Atria, at your SinoAtrial (SA) Node. In a healthy heart this node is your hearts natural pacemaker. With perfect timing it releases an electrical impulse that triggers the depolorization and repolorization of the heart. A normal heart rate with Sinus conduction is between [60-100] beats per minute.
As this impulse travels accross your atria it eventually will hit your Atrioventricular (AV) Node. The AV Node passes this impulse on more slowly than the SA Node. The more that the AV Node is stimulated the slower that it reacts. In the event that the heart goes into atrial tachycardia the AV Node keeps the ventricles from following suit. Also, if the SA Node fails to conduct, the AV Node can originate the impulse needed to continue beating. However the conduction is slower than normal and is more in the range of [30-60] beats per minute.
Once the conduction has passed from the AV Node it travels through the Bundle of HIS. The bundle of HIS provides a conductive pathway between the ventricles that branches off into the right and left ventricles. The bundle of HIS terminates into the Purkinje Fibers. Pronounced [Purr-Kin-Gee]- these fibers along with the Bundle of HIS comprise the conduction system of the ventricles.
And this concludes the simple breakdown of the conduction pathway of the heart.
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