While in the hospital recovering from her heart attack Ms. F. developed a condition known as atrial fibrillation, in which the myocytes of the atria depolarize and contract individually. How are the cells of the heart supposed to contract? (Hint: Think about the functions of the intercalated discs.) Why would it impair the functions of the heart as a whole to have cardiac myocytes contracting individually?

The cells of the heart have to contract all at the same time.

Explanation:

The cells of the heart have to contract all at the same time and with a rhythm. If they do not do this, the heart can not pump blood to the body, and the person dies. The coordinated contraction is thanks to the depolarization of the muscular cells and the movement of ions, the intercalated discs, that are between one muscle fiber and the other, are essential to keep the cells together and to transmit the action potential to all the cardiac cells.

The myocytes that are so because mine comes from muscle, are part of specialized muscle tissue or cardiac muscle tissue, which unlike skeletal and smooth, this is the only one to present electrical autonomy and massive simultaneous contraction.

Explanation:

In a cardiac disorder such as atrial fibrillation, the myocytes contract separately without acting in mass, therefore, they do not produce the correct blood circuit of the heart, generating affected filling and emptying, promoting the presence of blood removal or stagnation of the blood, if This blood is not pumped to the rest of the body of the deceased patient.

Atrial fibrillations are caused by electrical failures that have been added throughout the life of the patient, the utonomy of the cells is what predominates, it does not work together or in plate and its contraction is not simultaneous rhythm, which is extremely grave .