Cardiac pacemaker discharge at about 40-60 beats per minute, and are called the "secondary pacemaker". Further down the electrical conducting system of the heart is the Bundle of His. The left and right branches of this bundle, and the Purkinje fibres, will also produce a spontaneous action potential at a rate of 30-40 beats per minute, so if the SA and AV node both fail to function, these cells can become pacemakers. It is important to realize that these cells will be initiating action potentials and contraction at a much lower rate than the primary or secondary pacemaker cells. The SA node
Cardiac muscle the walls of a house contain electrical wires and plumbing, cardiac muscle also contains specialised cells for conducting electrical signals rapidly (the cardiac conduction system), and blood vessels to bring nutrients to the muscle cells and take away waste products (the coronary arteries, veins and capillary network). Cardiac muscle cells or cardiomyocytes are the contracting cells which allow the heart to pump. Each cardiomyocyte needs to contract in coordination with its neighbouring cells to efficiently pump blood from the heart, and if this coordination breaks down then – despite individual cells contracting – the heart may not pump at all,