The Strongest Pump of All: Electrical Heart Functions
Electrical currents trigger heart contractions.Copyright www.thebakken.org/education/tours
Students learn how the heart functions. They are introduced to the concept of action potential generation, which causes the electrical current that triggers muscle contraction in the heart. Teachers provide two simple class demos and students learn about the basic electrical signals generated by the heart: P, QRS and T waves. Students also learn the basic steps of the engineering design process and think of ways to improve heart function, from a biomedical engineering point-of-view. A PowerPoint® presentation, student design challenge worksheet and pre/post-assessment tests are provided.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. To address this medical condition, engineers are continually looking for new ways to quickly detect and evaluate heart function and malfunction. Engineers designed the electrocardiogram (EKG) to diagnose heart problems and cardiac pacemakers to keep the heart pumping when it is unable to do so on its own.
After completing this lesson, students should be able to:
- Explain the basics of the engineering design process.
- Describe how the heart functions off an electrical current.
- Identify the P, QRS and T complexes.
- Explain how electrical current is created by the human body.
- Explain how action potentials are generated.
- Explain the importance of heart bioelectricity for the body.
- Describe the functions of the action potential.
- Explain how action potential propagation happens in the heart, causing cardiac muscle contraction and pumping action.