Hello hello!
In this video you are going to learn the cardiac conduction system or the electrical system
of the heart.
Hey there friend, my name is Christina Rafano from nursingschoolofsuccess.com and does the
cardiac system just freak you out?
I hear this all the time from nursing students, that learning about the heart is so hard and
complicated.
But friend, it shouldn't be that hard and it will be super easy once you get it, and
we're going to make that happen today.
Are you ready?
So let's dive into the cardiac conduction system.
Now, the hearts electrical system is there for a very good reason, it's whole job is
to keep the heart contracting and pumping.
And when the heart contracts it moves blood forward, right, so when the cardiac conduction
system is working, the heart is pumping, and blood is moving through the body.
So all of that is a good thing, otherwise, the body wouldn't get any blood.
So there are 5 main parts to the cardiac conduction system: the Sinoatrial node (or the SA node),
the Atrioventricular node (or the AV node), the bundle of His, the left and right bundle
branches and the Purkinje fibers.
The SA node sits high up in the right artium, and it is the main pacemaker of the heart,
it's a whole group of cells that have a special superpower: they can create an electrical
impulse.
Okay, now I'm just going to totally geek out on you here because I think this is just the
coolest thing ever.
So the SA node can just snap it's fingers, and poof!
There's an electrical impulse.
How awesome is that?!
So this SA node starts the whole system because it can actually generate an electrical impulse
all on it's own.
Pretty cool right?
And after the SA node fires this impulse, that impulse travels down to the AV node,
which is located between the artia in the intraatrial septum.
Now something fun and fancy happens at the AV node, this is really super cool, there
is a pause.
The AV node doesn't just let that impulse pass through, it holds it there for awhile
while the atria contract and then it sends that impulse along on it's way.
Now, let's do some critical thinking and think about why this AV node pause is so important.
So if the impulse was just allowed to pass directly through from the SA node all the
way down the heart, the atria and the ventricles would contract at the same time, and blood
would just be flying everywhere around the heart, the atria wouldn't be able to fill
the ventricles and the body wouldn't get any blood.
So it's pretty amazing that the AV node is smart enough to say, "Hey there Mr. electrical
impulse, hold up a second and let's wait for these atria to contract."
That AV node is pretty smart.
So once that AV node allows that electrical impulse to pass through, it moves to the bundle
of His, which is located just below that AV node, and from there it separates through
the left and right bundle branches.
The left and right bundle branches run through the intraventricular septum, which is that
wall in the heart that separates the ventricles.
So that electrical impulse separates and travels down those left and right bundle branches,
down toward the apex of the heart and to the Purkinje fibers.
I just love that word, Purkinje.
So these Purkinje fibers are found along the ventricles, and when that electrical impulse
hits those Purkinje fibers, the ventricles contract.
Amazing.
And that is the conduction system of the heart: the SA node creates the electrical impulse,
it moves to the AV node and pauses for the atria to contract.
And it then travels down to the bundle of His, where it separates into the left and
right bundle branches.
And from there it moves to the Purkinje fibers, which contract the ventricles.
Pretty cool huh?
Now definitely check out the video we have on the pathway of blood through the heart
which pairs nicely with this video.
And make sure to hit that like button, subscribe, and hit the bell so you never miss out on
any videos we post around here.
Thank you so much for being here, friend, now go become the nurse that God created only
YOU to be.
I'll catch you next time, on the nursing school show.
Take care.