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Sophisticated Architecture is Required for the Sinoatrial Node to Perform Its Normal Pacemaker Function
Author(s) -
BOYETT MARK R.,
DOBRZYNSKI HALINA,
LANCASTER MATTHEW K.,
JONES SANDRA A.,
HONJO HARUO,
KODAMA ITSUO
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.193
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1540-8167
pISSN - 1045-3873
DOI - 10.1046/j.1540-8167.2003.02307.x
Subject(s) - medicine , sinoatrial node , cardiology , node (physics) , function (biology) , heart rate , blood pressure , evolutionary biology , structural engineering , engineering , biology
Structure‐Function Relationships of the SA Node. The heart's pacemaker, the sinoatrial node, does not consist of a group of uniform sinoatrial node cells embedded in atrial muscle. Instead, it is a heterogeneous tissue with multiple cell types and a complex structure. Evidence suggests that from the periphery to the center of the sinoatrial node, there is a gradient in action potential shape, pacemaking, ionic current densities, connexin expression, Ca 2+ handling, myofilament density, and cell size. This complexity may be necessary for the sinoatrial node to pacemake under diverse conditions, drive the more hyperpolarized atrial muscle, and resist proarrhythmic perturbations.