Effective refractory period on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
In
In electrocardiography
Electrocardiography is the process of producing an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), a recording of the heart's electrical activity through repeated cardiac cycles.
It is an electrogram of the heart which is a graph of voltage versus time of t ...
, during a cardiac cycle
The cardiac cycle is the performance of the heart, human heart from the beginning of one heartbeat to the beginning of the next. It consists of two periods: one during which the heart muscle relaxes and refills with blood, called diastole, fo ...
, once an action potential is initiated, there is a period of time that a new action potential cannot be initiated. This is termed the effective refractory period (ERP) of the tissue. This period is approximately equal to the absolute refractory period (ARP), it occurs because the fast sodium channels
Sodium channels are integral membrane proteins that form ion channels, conducting sodium ions (Na+) through a cell's membrane. They belong to the superfamily of cation channels.
Classification
They are classified into 2 types:
Function
In e ...
remain closed until the cell fully repolarizes.
During this period, depolarization on adjacent cardiac muscles does not produce a new depolarization in the current cell as it has to refract back to phase 4 of the action potential before a new action potential can activate it. ERP acts as a protective mechanism and keeps the heart rate in check and prevents arrhythmias
Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. Essentially, this is anything but normal sinus rhythm. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats ...
, and it helps coordinates muscle contraction. Anti-arrhythmic agents used for arrhythmias usually prolong the ERP. For the treatment of atrial fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation (AF, AFib or A-fib) is an Heart arrhythmia, abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) characterized by fibrillation, rapid and irregular beating of the Atrium (heart), atrial chambers of the heart. It often begins as short periods ...
, it is a problem that the prolongation of the ERP by these agents also affects the ventricles, which can induce other types of arrhythmias.
References
Cardiac electrophysiology {{Cardiology-stub