Abstract
Summary
1. The duration of ventricular systole and its ejection phase are influenced at corresponding heart rates by the diastolic filling and the initial pressure of the ventricles, as demonstrated by recent experimental work.
2. The duration of these periods in hearts with auricular fibrillation is shorter (than normal at corresponding heart rates, even in spite of the higher venous pressures present.
3. These intervals increase when the heart reverts to a normal mechanism.
We conclude, therefore, that these observations give probable if indirect evidence of the dynamic importance of auricular systole in the normal heart beat in man.
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