MEDRADSC 2A03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Myocardial Infarction, Heart Rate, Purkinje Fibers

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Medical Radiation Sciences
• Course: MEDRADSC 2A03
• Professor: Tara Blaszynski

Document Summary

Heart such as arrhythmias, coronary heart disease (plaque buildup), and. It also used to display heart rate and cardiac rhythm. Why ecgs: understanding how blood flows through the heart is critical to understanding the function of the heart, however the heart needs an electrical stimulus to initiate the contractions needed to pump blood this is called the conduction system. Cardiac conduction system: the pathway of the pulse, sa node, sinoatrial node, pacemaker of the heart when iniated it starts the flow of impulses, av node, slows things down: allows atrium to fill, atrioventricular node. If these areas don"t work, purkinje fibres can take over but the patient won"t look too good . Two types of ecgs: cardiac monitoring, usually 3-lead, 12-lead ecg. Sinus bradycardia: hr below 60 b/min, regular rhythm, caused by, sa node disease, cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart, hypothyriodism, drugs such as beta blockers and lithium, pt usually asymptomatic.