Cardiac arrhythmias that are characterized by excessively slow HEART RATE, usually below 50 beats per minute in human adults. They can be classified broadly into SINOATRIAL NODE dysfunction and ATRIOVENTRICULAR BLOCK.

The number of times the HEART VENTRICLES contract per unit of time, usually per minute.

A transient absence of spontaneous respiration.

The 10th cranial nerve. The vagus is a mixed nerve which contains somatic afferents (from skin in back of the ear and the external auditory meatus), visceral afferents (from the pharynx, larynx, thorax, and abdomen), parasympathetic efferents (to the thorax and abdomen), and efferents to striated muscle (of the larynx and pharynx).

Abnormally low BLOOD PRESSURE that can result in inadequate blood flow to the brain and other vital organs. Common symptom is DIZZINESS but greater negative impacts on the body occur when there is prolonged depravation of oxygen and nutrients.

An involuntary movement or exercise of function in a part, excited in response to a stimulus applied to the periphery and transmitted to the brain or spinal cord.

The small mass of modified cardiac muscle fibers located at the junction of the superior vena cava (VENA CAVA, SUPERIOR) and right atrium. Contraction impulses probably start in this node, spread over the atrium (HEART ATRIUM) and are then transmitted by the atrioventricular bundle (BUNDLE OF HIS) to the ventricle (HEART VENTRICLE).

PRESSURE of the BLOOD on the ARTERIES and other BLOOD VESSELS.

Irregular HEART RATE caused by abnormal function of the SINOATRIAL NODE. It is characterized by a greater than 10% change between the maximum and the minimum sinus cycle length or 120 milliseconds.

Change of heartbeat induced by pressure on the eyeball, manipulation of extraocular muscles, or pressure upon the tissue remaining in the orbital apex after enucleation.

An alkaloid, originally from Atropa belladonna, but found in other plants, mainly SOLANACEAE. Hyoscyamine is the 3(S)-endo isomer of atropine.

Impaired conduction of cardiac impulse that can occur anywhere along the conduction pathway, such as between the SINOATRIAL NODE and the right atrium (SA block) or between atria and ventricles (AV block). Heart blocks can be classified by the duration, frequency, or completeness of conduction block. Reversibility depends on the degree of structural or functional defects.

Recording of the moment-to-moment electromotive forces of the HEART as projected onto various sites on the body's surface, delineated as a scalar function of time. The recording is monitored by a tracing on slow moving chart paper or by observing it on a cardioscope, which is a CATHODE RAY TUBE DISPLAY.

An activity in which the organism plunges into water. It includes scuba and bell diving. Diving as natural behavior of animals goes here, as well as diving in decompression experiments with humans or animals.

A condition caused by dysfunctions related to the SINOATRIAL NODE including impulse generation (CARDIAC SINUS ARREST) and impulse conduction (SINOATRIAL EXIT BLOCK). It is characterized by persistent BRADYCARDIA, chronic ATRIAL FIBRILLATION, and failure to resume sinus rhythm following CARDIOVERSION. This syndrome can be congenital or acquired, particularly after surgical correction for heart defects.

A response by the BARORECEPTORS to increased BLOOD PRESSURE. Increased pressure stretches BLOOD VESSELS which activates the baroreceptors in the vessel walls. The net response of the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM is a reduction of central sympathetic outflow. This reduces blood pressure both by decreasing peripheral VASCULAR RESISTANCE and by lowering CARDIAC OUTPUT. Because the baroreceptors are tonically active, the baroreflex can compensate rapidly for both increases and decreases in blood pressure.

A transient loss of consciousness and postural tone caused by diminished blood flow to the brain (i.e., BRAIN ISCHEMIA). Presyncope refers to the sensation of lightheadedness and loss of strength that precedes a syncopal event or accompanies an incomplete syncope. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp367-9)

A device designed to stimulate, by electric impulses, contraction of the heart muscles. It may be temporary (external) or permanent (internal or internal-external).

Abnormally rapid heartbeat, usually with a HEART RATE above 100 beats per minute for adults. Tachycardia accompanied by disturbance in the cardiac depolarization (cardiac arrhythmia) is called tachyarrhythmia.

A state characterized by loss of feeling or sensation. This depression of nerve function is usually the result of pharmacologic action and is induced to allow performance of surgery or other painful procedures.

The interruption or removal of any part of the vagus (10th cranial) nerve. Vagotomy may be performed for research or for therapeutic purposes.

Analogs and derivatives of atropine.

The act of breathing with the LUNGS, consisting of INHALATION, or the taking into the lungs of the ambient air, and of EXHALATION, or the expelling of the modified air which contains more CARBON DIOXIDE than the air taken in (Blakiston's Gould Medical Dictionary, 4th ed.). This does not include tissue respiration (= OXYGEN CONSUMPTION) or cell respiration (= CELL RESPIRATION).

The HEART and the BLOOD VESSELS by which BLOOD is pumped and circulated through the body.

Impaired impulse conduction from HEART ATRIA to HEART VENTRICLES. AV block can mean delayed or completely blocked impulse conduction.

Receptors in the vascular system, particularly the aorta and carotid sinus, which are sensitive to stretch of the vessel walls.

Loss of consciousness due to a reduction in blood pressure that is associated with an increase in vagal tone and peripheral vasodilation.

Cells specialized to detect chemical substances and relay that information centrally in the nervous system. Chemoreceptor cells may monitor external stimuli, as in TASTE and OLFACTION, or internal stimuli, such as the concentrations of OXYGEN and CARBON DIOXIDE in the blood.

The hollow, muscular organ that maintains the circulation of the blood.

The lower portion of the BRAIN STEM. It is inferior to the PONS and anterior to the CEREBELLUM. Medulla oblongata serves as a relay station between the brain and the spinal cord, and contains centers for regulating respiratory, vasomotor, cardiac, and reflex activities.

Any disturbances of the normal rhythmic beating of the heart or MYOCARDIAL CONTRACTION. Cardiac arrhythmias can be classified by the abnormalities in HEART RATE, disorders of electrical impulse generation, or impulse conduction.

Regulation of the rate of contraction of the heart muscles by an artificial pacemaker.

A condition characterized by abnormal posturing of the limbs that is associated with injury to the brainstem. This may occur as a clinical manifestation or induced experimentally in animals. The extensor reflexes are exaggerated leading to rigid extension of the limbs accompanied by hyperreflexia and opisthotonus. This condition is usually caused by lesions which occur in the region of the brainstem that lies between the red nuclei and the vestibular nuclei. In contrast, decorticate rigidity is characterized by flexion of the elbows and wrists with extension of the legs and feet. The causative lesion for this condition is located above the red nuclei and usually consists of diffuse cerebral damage. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p358)

An imidazoline sympatholytic agent that stimulates ALPHA-2 ADRENERGIC RECEPTORS and central IMIDAZOLINE RECEPTORS. It is commonly used in the management of HYPERTENSION.

Agents that inhibit the actions of the parasympathetic nervous system. The major group of drugs used therapeutically for this purpose is the MUSCARINIC ANTAGONISTS.

The dilated portion of the common carotid artery at its bifurcation into external and internal carotids. It contains baroreceptors which, when stimulated, cause slowing of the heart, vasodilatation, and a fall in blood pressure.

The craniosacral division of the autonomic nervous system. The cell bodies of the parasympathetic preganglionic fibers are in brain stem nuclei and in the sacral spinal cord. They synapse in cranial autonomic ganglia or in terminal ganglia near target organs. The parasympathetic nervous system generally acts to conserve resources and restore homeostasis, often with effects reciprocal to the sympathetic nervous system.

The placing of a body or a part thereof into a liquid.

The ENTERIC NERVOUS SYSTEM; PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM; and SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM taken together. Generally speaking, the autonomic nervous system regulates the internal environment during both peaceful activity and physical or emotional stress. Autonomic activity is controlled and integrated by the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, especially the HYPOTHALAMUS and the SOLITARY NUCLEUS, which receive information relayed from VISCERAL AFFERENTS.

Poisoning caused by ingestion of SEAFOOD containing microgram levels of CIGUATOXINS. The poisoning is characterized by gastrointestinal, neurological and cardiovascular disturbances.

Physiological integration of multiple SYNAPTIC POTENTIAL signals to reach the threshold and initiate postsynaptic ACTION POTENTIALS. In spatial summation stimulations from additional synaptic junctions are recruited to generate s response. In temporal summation succeeding stimuli signals are summed up to reach the threshold. The postsynaptic potentials can be either excitatory or inhibitory (EPSP or IPSP).

GRAY MATTER located in the dorsomedial part of the MEDULLA OBLONGATA associated with the solitary tract. The solitary nucleus receives inputs from most organ systems including the terminations of the facial, glossopharyngeal, and vagus nerves. It is a major coordinator of AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM regulation of cardiovascular, respiratory, gustatory, gastrointestinal, and chemoreceptive aspects of HOMEOSTASIS. The solitary nucleus is also notable for the large number of NEUROTRANSMITTERS which are found therein.

Agents used for the treatment or prevention of cardiac arrhythmias. They may affect the polarization-repolarization phase of the action potential, its excitability or refractoriness, or impulse conduction or membrane responsiveness within cardiac fibers. Anti-arrhythmia agents are often classed into four main groups according to their mechanism of action: sodium channel blockade, beta-adrenergic blockade, repolarization prolongation, or calcium channel blockade.

The injection of very small amounts of fluid, often with the aid of a microscope and microsyringes.

A malignant form of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia that is characterized by HEART RATE between 200 and 250 beats per minute, and QRS complexes with changing amplitude and twisting of the points. The term also describes the syndrome of tachycardia with prolonged ventricular repolarization, long QT intervals exceeding 500 milliseconds or BRADYCARDIA. Torsades de pointes may be self-limited or may progress to VENTRICULAR FIBRILLATION.

The heart rate of the FETUS. The normal range at term is between 120 and 160 beats per minute.

The thoracolumbar division of the autonomic nervous system. Sympathetic preganglionic fibers originate in neurons of the intermediolateral column of the spinal cord and project to the paravertebral and prevertebral ganglia, which in turn project to target organs. The sympathetic nervous system mediates the body's response to stressful situations, i.e., the fight or flight reactions. It often acts reciprocally to the parasympathetic system.

Cessation of heart beat or MYOCARDIAL CONTRACTION. If it is treated within a few minutes, heart arrest can be reversed in most cases to normal cardiac rhythm and effective circulation.

Drugs that inhibit the actions of the sympathetic nervous system by any mechanism. The most common of these are the ADRENERGIC ANTAGONISTS and drugs that deplete norepinephrine or reduce the release of transmitters from adrenergic postganglionic terminals (see ADRENERGIC AGENTS). Drugs that act in the central nervous system to reduce sympathetic activity (e.g., centrally acting alpha-2 adrenergic agonists, see ADRENERGIC ALPHA-AGONISTS) are included here.

Small clusters of chemoreceptive and supporting cells located near the ARCH OF THE AORTA; the PULMONARY ARTERIES; and the CORONARY ARTERIES. The aortic bodies sense PH; CARBON DIOXIDE; and OXYGEN concentrations in the BLOOD and participate in the control of RESPIRATION. The aortic bodies should not be confused with the PARA-AORTIC BODIES in the abdomen (which are sometimes also called aortic bodies).

The movement and the forces involved in the movement of the blood through the CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM.

Complications that affect patients during surgery. They may or may not be associated with the disease for which the surgery is done, or within the same surgical procedure.

Polycyclic ethers produced by Gambierdiscus (DINOFLAGELLATES) from gambiertoxins, which are ingested by fish which in turn may be ingested by humans who are susceptible to the CIGUATERA POISONING.

A standard and widely accepted diagnostic test used to identify patients who have a vasodepressive and/or cardioinhibitory response as a cause of syncope. (From Braunwald, Heart Disease, 7th ed)

Sense of awareness of self and of the environment.

A cardioselective beta-1 adrenergic blocker possessing properties and potency similar to PROPRANOLOL, but without a negative inotropic effect.

PROCEDURES that use NEUROENDOSCOPES for disease diagnosis and treatment. Neuroendoscopy, generally an integration of the neuroendoscope with a computer-assisted NEURONAVIGATION system, provides guidance in NEUROSURGICAL PROCEDURES.

Processes and properties of the CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM as a whole or of any of its parts.

Procedure in which an anesthetic is injected directly into the spinal cord.

The domestic dog, Canis familiaris, comprising about 400 breeds, of the carnivore family CANIDAE. They are worldwide in distribution and live in association with people. (Walker's Mammals of the World, 5th ed, p1065)

Drugs that bind to but do not activate beta-adrenergic receptors thereby blocking the actions of beta-adrenergic agonists. Adrenergic beta-antagonists are used for treatment of hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, angina pectoris, glaucoma, migraine headaches, and anxiety.

A muscarinic antagonist used as an antispasmodic, in some disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, and to reduce salivation with some anesthetics.

An alpha-1 adrenergic antagonist that is commonly used as an antihypertensive agent.

Drugs that bind to but do not activate MUSCARINIC RECEPTORS, thereby blocking the actions of endogenous ACETYLCHOLINE or exogenous agonists. Muscarinic antagonists have widespread effects including actions on the iris and ciliary muscle of the eye, the heart and blood vessels, secretions of the respiratory tract, GI system, and salivary glands, GI motility, urinary bladder tone, and the central nervous system.

A widely used non-cardioselective beta-adrenergic antagonist. Propranolol has been used for MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION; ARRHYTHMIA; ANGINA PECTORIS; HYPERTENSION; HYPERTHYROIDISM; MIGRAINE; PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA; and ANXIETY but adverse effects instigate replacement by newer drugs.