Session I: Basic Science and Fundamentals of Electrophysiology-6153-Basic Electrophysiology Principles for the Clinician

Video Transcription

Video Summary

In this lecture, Dr. Tomaselli from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine discusses the principles of basic electrophysiology in relation to ion channels, currents, and action potentials. He also explores arrhythmia mechanisms and how drugs interact with these mechanisms. While he covers topics such as the physiology of the heart, conduction of electrical activity, and the pharmacology of antiarrhythmic drugs, he mentions that he won't discuss mechanisms of defibrillation, the physics of ablation, electronics, recording, filtering, or definitions used in the electrophysiology laboratory as they will be covered elsewhere. Dr. Tomaselli focuses on understanding clinical electrophysiology by studying the cellular and tissue manifestations of electrical activity in the heart. He explains the measurement of electrical activity in heart cells using microelectrodes, and how the difference in voltage between the tips of two microelectrodes can provide information about ion channels in the heart. He discusses the phases of the action potential and the various currents involved, such as sodium, calcium, and potassium currents. Dr. Tomaselli highlights the regional and chamber-specific variations of action potentials and their importance in understanding electrical activity in the heart. He also explains the basic principles of ion channels, including permeation, gating, and rectification. Additionally, he describes the mechanisms and classification of antiarrhythmic drugs, as well as their limitations and potential side effects. Finally, Dr. Tomaselli briefly discusses the genetic architecture of arrhythmias and explains the challenges and limitations of genetic testing in these cases. Overall, this lecture provides a comprehensive overview of the principles of basic electrophysiology and their clinical applications.

Keywords

basic electrophysiology

ion channels

action potentials

arrhythmia mechanisms

drug interactions

pharmacology of antiarrhythmic drugs

measurement of electrical activity

microelectrodes

sodium currents

potassium currents

genetic testing