The conduction system of the heart initiates and coordinates the electric signal that causes the rhythmic and synchronized contractions of the atria and ventricles. In higher vertebrates, this system comprises the sinuatrial (SAN) and atrioventricular nodes (AVN) and the “wiring” of the ventricles. The latter comprises the atrioventricular bundle (AVB), the left and right bundle branches (BBs),...

A frequent and serious complication of certain intracardiac procedures is heart block, produced by operative injury to the conduction pathways. The anatomic relationship of the conduction system to cardiac defects has previously been studied only in isolated cases of heart block. This report deals with a study, by means of serial sections and reconstructions, of the relationships of the atriove...

BACKGROUND Mutations in the dystrophin gene produce clinical manifestations of disease in heart, brain, and skeletal muscle in patients with Duchenne and Beckers muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD). Conduction disturbances and heart block contribute to cardiac decompensation in these patients, which suggests an important role for dystrophia in the cardiac conduction system. We therefore examined the m...

This is a pathophysiological correlation in two cases showing split His bundle potentials. The first case had a history of previous complete heart block and the electrophysiological studies revealed split His potentials with intact A-V conduction. Case two had split His potentials with complete heart block. Serial sections of the conduction system in both cases revealed calcific impingement on,...

Heart rate variability (HRV) has become an important clinical marker of cardiovascular health and a research measure for the study of the cardiac conduction system and its autonomic controls. While the zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an ideal vertebrate model for understanding heart development, HRV has only recently been investigated in this system. We have previously demonstrated that nkx2.5 and n...