CARDIAC MUSCLE

Heart Diagram

Cardiac muscle
Thick and thin filaments like skeletal muscle organized in sarcomeres Have more mitochondria Larger T tubules Same mechanism of contraction

Cardiac muscle
Found in the heart Involuntary rhythmic contraction Branched, striated fibre with single nucleus and intercalated discs

Functions of the Heart

Generating blood pressure Routing blood
Heart separates pulmonary and systemic circulations

Ensuring one-way blood flow

Heart valves ensure one-way flow

Regulating blood supply

Changes in contraction rate and force match blood delivery to changing metabolic needs

Heart Wall
Three layers of tissue
Epicardium: This serous membrane of smooth outer surface of heart Myocardium: Middle layer composed of cardiac muscle cell and responsibility for heart contracting Endocardium: Smooth inner surface of heart chambers

Valve function:

Cardiac Muscle
Found only in heart Striated Each cell usually has one nucleus Has intercalated disks and gap junctions Autorhythmic cells Action potentials of longer duration and longer refractory period Ca2+ regulates contraction

Cardiac Muscle

Elongated, branching cells containing 1-2 centrally located nuclei Contains actin and myosin myofilaments Intercalated disks: Specialized cell-cell contacts Desmosomes hold cells together and gap junctions allow action potentials Electrically, cardiac muscle behaves as single unit

Cardiac Muscle, Histology

Single nucleus 25% mitochondria Aerobic respiration Striated (sarcomeres) Autorhythmic contraction (doesnt need nerve stimulus) Intercalated discs enable action potential to travel to neighboring cells Different action potential than skeletal muscle

Intercalated disks
Cardiac myocytes are however interconnected by intercalated discs Intercalated disks are areas of low electrical resistance because they have gap junctions that permit the flow of ions between cells. Cardiac myocytes function as one mass (functional syncytium) , i.e. stimulation of one cell can lead to excitation and contraction of the whole mass of cells. (compare to skeletal muscle where the cells are discrete and electrically isolated from each other).

Most aspects of Cardiac muscle contraction are equivalent to skeletal muscle

(Action potential, Ca++, sliding filaments, ATP uses, etc.)

Cardiac Muscle Physiology

Resting Membrane Potential = -90mv Threshold = -75 mV Action Potential results in increased cytoplasmic Ca++ Ca++ binds to troponin exposes active sites cross-bridges, etc... [same as skeletal muscle]

Cardiac Muscle Action Potential

Slower A.P. (250-300 msec) Rapid Depolarization (Na+ in) Plateau phase, due to influx of extra-cellular Ca++ slow Repolarization (K+ out through slow channels) AP causes release Ca++ from SR; triggers contraction

Cardiac myocyte action potential:

Cardiac myocyte action potential:

AP-contraction relationship:
AP in skeletal muscle is very short-lived
AP is basically over before an increase in muscle tension can be measured.

AP in cardiac muscle is very long-lived

AP has an extra component, which extends the duration. The contraction is almost over before the action potential has finished.

Two Calcium Sources

1. Extracellular 2. Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Extracellular Ca++ (20%) influx causes plateau phase AP also triggers release of Ca++ from sarcoplasmic reticulum (80%) Ca++ binds to troponin series of events to expose active sites

Relation between cardiac muscle action potential and contraction

Refractory Period
cell cant respond to another stimulus, b/c of charge, ion distribution, etc. Absolute refractory = cant re-stimulate Relative refractory = needs gtr. stimulus Cardiac m. refractory period is much longer than in skeletal m. Cardiac m. contraction occurs during AP, within refractory period summation is not possible Importance? Prevents re-stimulation of fibers Heart in tetany cannot pump blood
Refractory period absolute relative

Cardiac Cycle
Heart is two pumps that work together, right and left half Repetitive contraction (systole) and relaxation (diastole) of heart chambers Blood moves through circulatory system from areas of higher to lower pressure.
Contraction of heart produces the pressure

Blood Pressure Measurement

Pressure relationships:

Cardiac conducting system:

Pacemaker potential:

EKG:

Muscle Control
Type of muscle
Skeletal Skeletal Cardiac

Nervous control
Controlled by CNS Regulated by ANS

Type of control
Voluntary

Example

Lifting a glass

Involuntary Heart beating Involuntary Peristalsis

Smooth

Controlled by ANS

Regulation of the Heart

Intrinsic regulation: Results from normal functional characteristics, not on neural or hormonal regulation Extrinsic regulation: Involves neural and hormonal control
Parasympathetic stimulation
Supplied by vagus nerve, decreases heart rate, acetylcholine secreted

Sympathetic stimulation
Supplied by cardiac nerves, increases heart rate and force of contraction, epinephrine and norepinephrine released

Cardiac Arrhythmias
Tachycardia: Heart rate in excess of 100bpm Bradycardia: Heart rate less than 60 bpm Sinus arrhythmia: Heart rate varies 5% during respiratory cycle and up to 30% during deep respiration Premature atrial contractions: Occasional shortened intervals between one contraction and succeeding, frequently occurs in healthy people