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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

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Isolation and Functional Characterization of Human Ventricular Cardiomyocytes from Fresh Surgical Samples
Published on: April 21, 2014
Cardiac myocyte-nonmyocyte electrotonic coupling: implications for ventricular arrhythmogenesis
Peter Kohl1, Patrizia Camelliti
1Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. peter.kohl@dpag.ox.ac.uk
Heart Rhythm
|February 6, 2007
Summary
No abstract available in PubMed .
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Arrhythmias are irregular heart rhythms occurring when the heart's electrical impulses become abnormal. These disturbances can lead to various symptoms, depending on their severity and the underlying cause. Some common factors contributing to arrhythmias include hypoxia, ischemia, electrolyte imbalances, excessive catecholamine exposure, drug toxicity, and muscle overstretching. Arrhythmias can be classified into two main types based on the rate and site of origin of abnormal heart rhythms.
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Ionic Basis of Cardiac Action Potentials
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The primary role of cardiac muscles is to propel blood throughout the cardiovascular system. The cardiac muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes, exhibit specialized characteristics that allow them to perform this function.
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Correlation between ECG and Cardiac Cycle
The electrical signals recorded on an electrocardiogram (ECG) occur before the mechanical processes of contraction and relaxation during the cardiac cycle.
A cardiac action potential originates in the SA node and spreads throughout the atria and the AV node in approximately 0.03 seconds. This results in the P wave in an ECG and triggers atrial contraction. The action potential is then briefly slowed at the AV node, allowing the atria to contract and fill the ventricles with blood before...
A cardiac action potential originates in the SA node and spreads throughout the atria and the AV node in approximately 0.03 seconds. This results in the P wave in an ECG and triggers atrial contraction. The action potential is then briefly slowed at the AV node, allowing the atria to contract and fill the ventricles with blood before...

