How Does The Heart Beat?

The atria and ventricles work together, alternately contracting and relaxing to pump blood through your heart. The electrical system of your heart is the power source that makes this possible.

Your heartbeat is triggered by electrical impulses that travel down a special pathway through your heart.

• SA node (sinoatrial node) " known as the heart s natural pacemaker
  The impulse starts in a small bundle of specialized cells located in the right atrium. The electrical activity spreads through the walls of the atria and causes them to contract.

• AV node (atrioventricular node) - A cluster of cells in the center of the heart between the atria and ventricles, the AV node is like a gate that slows the electrical signal before it enters the ventricles. This delay gives the atria time to contract before the ventricles do.

• His-Purkinje Network - This pathway of fibers sends the impulse to the muscular walls of the ventricles, causing them to contract.

At rest, a normal heart beats around 50 to 99 times a minute. Exercise, emotions, fever and some medications can cause your heart to beat faster, sometimes to well over 100 beats per minute.

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The Cleveland Clinic 2004
The Cleveland Clinic
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