Muscle nerve sympathetic activity following ectopic heart beats--a note on the burst pattern of sympathetic impulses

Under normal conditions in man, sympathetic activity in muscle nerves occurs in bursts that are synchronized with the cardiac rhythm by inhibitory influence from high-pressure baroreceptors. Analysis of sympathetic outflow following ectopic heart beats indicated that in this situation the activity subsides without being inhibited by a baroreceptor input. It is concluded that the activity has an inherent characteristic of occurring not as a continuous outflow, but in clearly defined bursts.