The AV node, or the atrioventricular node, is a part of the heart’s electrical system that connects the atria and the ventricles. It is located near the center of the heart, on the right side of the interatrial septum.
The AV node receives the electrical impulses from the sinoatrial node, which is the natural pacemaker of the heart, and delays them for a fraction of a second before passing them to the ventricles. This delay allows the atria to contract and fill the ventricles with blood before the ventricles contract and pump the blood to the rest of the body.
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The AV node also regulates the rate of the electrical impulses that reach the ventricles, preventing them from becoming too fast or too irregular. The AV node is supplied by a branch of the right coronary artery or the left circumflex artery, depending on the dominance of the coronary circulation. The AV node can develop problems that affect the heart rhythm, such as AV nodal reentrant tachycardia, heart block, or sick sinus syndrome. These conditions may require treatment with medications, pacemakers, or ablation procedures.
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