What is the conduction (electrical) system of the heart?
The normal beating of the heart is vital to effective pumping of blood. A heart beat is controlled by its conduction system. The conduction system is clumps and strands of specialized cardiac muscle tissue that initiate and distribute impulses that stimulate the heart to contract and pump blood through the body. If the heart beat is interrupted or erratic, the heart may not pump effectively. The sinus node is a group of cells in the upper part of the right atrium. The sinus node is the heart’s natural pacemaker and the normal origin of the electrical impulse. The electrical impulse then passes to the atrioventricular node. The atrioventricular node (AV node) is a cluster of cells between the right atrium and ventricle. It acts like a gate to slow down the electrical current before it passes to the ventricles. This process allows the atrium to contract before the following ventricular contraction. After passing through the AV node, the current will travel into specialized conduction tis
