We say that when the heart has an arrhythmia, it has malfunctioning electrical signals. Where do these electrical signals come from? The nerves? Are they the same as electricity? Do our bodies produce electricity?
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All signals that the nervous system send are basically electrical signals, passed from nerve cell to nerve cell through the body, like a fire brigade passing buckets to each other up a ladder. When it reaches a muscle, the electrical signal causes that cells to contract, thus moving the muscles. This is why people may seize up or have a spasm when they get an electric shock—it’s erratically triggering a bunch of muscle cells.
In terms of how it works, it’s all due to chemistry. A neuron detects a charge building up in the cell next to it, so it opens up its membrane a bit, allowing ions (usually of an element like sodium or calcium) to enter the cell. Since ions have an electric charge, they change the overall charge in the cell. This causes the other cell next to it to open its membrane, and it continues down the chain. Soon, the original cell reaches its maximum charge, the cell’s membrane reverses its polarity, and the ions are expelled. The whole process is incredibly rapid, going through the body in a matter of milliseconds.
All signals that the nervous system send are basically electrical signals, passed from nerve cell to nerve cell through the body, like a fire brigade passing buckets to each other up a ladder. When it reaches a muscle, the electrical signal causes that cells to contract, thus moving the muscles. This is why people may seize up or have a spasm when they get an electric shock—it’s erratically triggering a bunch of muscle cells.
In terms of how it works, it’s all due to chemistry. A neuron detects a charge building up in the cell next to it, so it opens up its membrane a bit, allowing ions (usually of an element like sodium or calcium) to enter the cell. Since ions have an electric charge, they change the overall charge in the cell. This causes the other cell next to it to open its membrane, and it continues down the chain. Soon, the original cell reaches its maximum charge, the cell’s membrane reverses its polarity, and the ions are expelled. The whole process is incredibly rapid, going through the body in a matter of milliseconds.
All signals that the nervous system send are basically electrical signals, passed from nerve cell to nerve cell through the body, like a fire brigade passing buckets to each other up a ladder. When it reaches a muscle, the electrical signal causes that cells to contract, thus moving the muscles. This is why people may seize up or have a spasm when they get an electric shock—it’s erratically triggering a bunch of muscle cells.
In terms of how it works, it’s all due to chemistry. A neuron detects a charge building up in the cell next to it, so it opens up its membrane a bit, allowing ions (usually of an element like sodium or calcium) to enter the cell. Since ions have an electric charge, they change the overall charge in the cell. This causes the other cell next to it to open its membrane, and it continues down the chain. Soon, the original cell reaches its maximum charge, the cell’s membrane reverses its polarity, and the ions are expelled. The whole process is incredibly rapid, going through the body in a matter of milliseconds.
The heart is a 4 chambered pump. Each chamber needs to contract at the proper time in order for it to effectively pump blood. The contractions are controlled by nerve signals which start in the top right of the heart and move to the bottom left. Any interruptions in the signals along the way can cause the heart to not function properly which could affect blood flow and be very bad.
The electric signals in your heart are a bit different from the electricity you’re used to. Normally we think of electricity as electrons moving in a wire, but in the case of the heart it is positive ions moving into and out of a nerve cell along it’s length. If you measured the voltage in a nerve cell you would see little spikes every time it fires because of those ions moving into then being pumped back out of the cell. The pumps that move the ions in and out of nerve cells run on chemical energy from the food you eat.
The heart is a 4 chambered pump. Each chamber needs to contract at the proper time in order for it to effectively pump blood. The contractions are controlled by nerve signals which start in the top right of the heart and move to the bottom left. Any interruptions in the signals along the way can cause the heart to not function properly which could affect blood flow and be very bad.
The electric signals in your heart are a bit different from the electricity you’re used to. Normally we think of electricity as electrons moving in a wire, but in the case of the heart it is positive ions moving into and out of a nerve cell along it’s length. If you measured the voltage in a nerve cell you would see little spikes every time it fires because of those ions moving into then being pumped back out of the cell. The pumps that move the ions in and out of nerve cells run on chemical energy from the food you eat.
The heart is a 4 chambered pump. Each chamber needs to contract at the proper time in order for it to effectively pump blood. The contractions are controlled by nerve signals which start in the top right of the heart and move to the bottom left. Any interruptions in the signals along the way can cause the heart to not function properly which could affect blood flow and be very bad.
The electric signals in your heart are a bit different from the electricity you’re used to. Normally we think of electricity as electrons moving in a wire, but in the case of the heart it is positive ions moving into and out of a nerve cell along it’s length. If you measured the voltage in a nerve cell you would see little spikes every time it fires because of those ions moving into then being pumped back out of the cell. The pumps that move the ions in and out of nerve cells run on chemical energy from the food you eat.
Short answer- The heart has 3 nodes that regulate the heartbeat. Electrical signals from the brain travel through nerves to these nodes. So your brain controls your heartbeat.
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