Kriselle Ann Calso

BSN 1A

Cardiac Action Potential

The cardiac potential is as follows with 4 phases: Phase 0 is depolarization of the membrane and the
opening of "fast" (i.e., high-flow) sodium channels. Potassium flow also decreases.depolarisation voltage
gated sodium ion channels open due to an electrical stimulus. As the sodium rushes back into the cell
the positive sodium ions raise the charge inside the cell from negative to positive.The resting potential is
the state of the membrane at a voltage of -70 mV, so the sodium cation entering the cell will cause it to
become less negative. This is known as depolarization, meaning the membrane potential moves toward
zero.Phase 1 is partial repolarization of the membrane thanks to a rapid decrease in sodium-ion passage
as the fast sodium channels close.Phase 2 is the plateau phase, in which the movement of calcium ions
out of the cell maintains depolarization. It gets its name because the electrical charge across the
membrane changes very little in this phase.includes three types of outward rectifier currents (slow,
intermediate and fast), all of which feature potassium movement. This rectifier current is what is
ultimately responsible for the contraction of cardiac muscle, as this potassium efflux initiates a cascade
in which calcium ions bind to active sites on cellular contractile proteins (e.g., actin, troponin) and cajole
them into action.Phase 2 ends when the inward flow of calcium and sodium cease while the outward
flow of potassium (the rectifier current) continues, pushing the cell toward repolarization.Phase 3 is
repolarization, as sodium and calcium channels close and membrane potential returns to its baseline
level. As the membrane potential repolarizes and the voltage passes -50 mV again, the channel closes—
again, with a little delay. Potassium continues to leave the cell for a short while and the membrane
potential becomes more negative, resulting in the hyperpolarizing overshoot. Then the channel closes
again and the membrane can return to the resting potential because of the ongoing activity of the non-
gated channels and the Na+/K+ pump.Phase 4 sees the membrane at its so-called resting potential of
−90 millivolts (mV) as a result of the work of the Na+/K+ ion pump. The value is negative because the
potential inside the cell is negative compared to the potential outside of it, and the latter is treated as
the zero frame of reference. This is because three sodium ions are pumped out of the cell for every two
potassium ions pumped into the cell; recall that these ions have an equivalent charge of +1, so this
system results in a net efflux, or outflow, of positive charge. Phase 4 of the cardiac muscle cell potential
is called the diastolic interval, because this period corresponds to diastole, or the interval between
contractions of heart muscle. Every time you hear or feel the thump of your heartbeat, this is the end of
the heart contracting, which as called systole. The faster your heart beats, the higher a fraction of its
contraction-relaxation cycle it spends in systole, but even when you are exercising all-out and pushing
your pulse rate into the 200 range, your heart is still in diastole most of the time, making phase 4 the
longest phase of the cardiac action potential, which in total lasts about 300 milliseconds (three-tenths of
a second) a threshold is reached, then an action potential is produced. Action potentials will only occur if
a threshold is reached, as such they are described as “all or nothing“. If the threshold is reached then the
maximum response will be elicited.
The Blood Flow

On the right side of the heart, blood enters the heart through two large veins, the inferior and superior
vena cava, emptying oxygen-poor blood from the body into the right atrium.As the atrium contracts,
blood flows from your right atrium into your right ventricle through the open tricuspid valve.When the
ventricle is full, the tricuspid valve shuts. This prevents blood from flowing backward into the right
atrium while the ventricle contracts.As the ventricle contracts, blood leaves the heart through the
pulmonic valve, into the pulmonary artery and to the lungs, where it is oxygenated. The oxygenated
blood then returns to the heart through the pulmonary veins.

On the left side of the heart, the pulmonary veins empty oxygen-rich blood from the lungs into the left
atrium.As the atrium contracts, blood flows from your left atrium into your left ventricle through the
open mitral valve.When the ventricle is full, the mitral valve shuts. This prevents blood from flowing
backward into the atrium while the ventricle contracts.As the ventricle contracts, blood leaves the heart
through the aortic valve, into the aorta and to the body.