Cardiac action potential action potential (see phase 2, below) and is a fundamental step in cardiac excitation-contraction coupling. There are important physiological differences between the cells that spontaneously generate the action potential (pacemaker cells; e.g. SAN) and those that simply conduct it (non-pacemaker cells; e.g. ventricular myocytes). The specific differences in the types of ion channels expressed and mechanisms by which they are activated results in differences in the configuration of the action potential waveform, as shown in figure 2. The standard model used to understand the cardiac action potential is that of the ventricular myocyte. Outlined below are the five phases of
Cardiac contractility modulation heart structure can be partially reversed by Cardiac contractility modulation through a process known as reverse remodeling of the heart. Development of cardiac contractility modulation began in the late 1990s. Studies on individual cardiac muscle cells using a patch-clamp technique had already shown, in 1969, that a voltage applied during the absolute refractory period through leads between the interior of the cell and its outside environment increased the calcium influx through the cell membrane and improved the contraction of cardiac muscle cells. In 2001, scientists observed that a similar effect occurs even if the voltage is applied exclusively outside the