Cardiac pacemaker and eventual action potential in contractile cells. Having cardiomyocytes connected via gap junctions allow all contractile cells of the heart to act in a coordinated fashion and contract as a unit. All the while being in sync with the pacemaker cells; this is the property that allows the pacemaker cells to control contraction in all other cardiomyocytes. Cells in the SA node spontaneously depolarize, ultimately resulting in contraction, approximately 100 times per minute. This native rate is constantly modified by the activity of sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve fibers via the autonomic nervous system, so that the average resting cardiac rate
Cardiac neural crest cells observed when GATA6 was inactivated within vascular smooth muscle cells. GATA6 in combination with Wnt (Wnt2-GATA6) plays a role in the development of the posterior pole of the heart (the inflow tract). There is interest amongst researchers as to whether CNCCs can be used to repair human heart tissue. Heart attacks in humans are common and their rate of mortality is high. There are emergency treatments that hospitals can administer, such as angioplasty or surgery, but after that patients will likely be on medication for the long term and are more susceptible to heart attacks in the future. Other complications