What happens if the sinus node doesn generate an impulse?
The Sinus node is known as the pacemaker of the heart. If the heart fails to produce an impulse, other heart tissues are able to produce impulses as well. If any other site of the conduction system assumes that function, it will be called subsidiary or secondary pacemaker. However, the spontaneous firing rate of these subsidiary pacemakers is slower than the SA node’s rate. Failure of the SA node to generate an impulse may result in decreased cardiac output and blood flow. How does the Central nervous system control the conduction of the electric impulse? The AV Node is responsible for transmitting the impulse from the atria to the ventricles. It limits the number of impulses that can pass through it in a given time period, preventing the ventricles from being driven at excessive rates when atrial disease produces abnormal impulses. The AV Node’s delaying and screening effects are under the control of the autonomic nervous system and hormones. At rest, under the influence of “decelerat
