Author(s)

R. Witters, E.E. Verheijck, R. Kumar, A.C.G. van Ginneken, R.W. Joyner & H.J. Jongsma

Abstract

The electrical impulse for the heartbeat is generated within the sinoatrial node and conducted to the working myocardium through gap junctions acting as low-resistance intercellular pathways. Single cells isolated from the sinoatrial node exhibit spontaneous electrical activity and are called pacemaker cells. These cells show a high degree of heterogeneity in their intrinsic electrical properties: there is, e.g., a large cell-to-cell difference in intrinsic interbeat interval. Nevertheless, they are synchr

Keywords