Importance of the Atrioventricular (AV) Node

The atrioventricular (AV) node is a key part of the heart's electrical system, controlling the transmission of the heart’s electrical impulse from the atria to the ventricles. This tiny structure is strategically located near the center of the heart at the spot where the two atria and the two ventricles are in close proximity. 

Disorders of the AV node can cause cardiac arrhythmias, in which the heart can beat either too slowly (bradycardia) or too rapidly (tachycardia). Both bradycardia or tachycardia can produce significant symptoms. 

EKG display
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What Is the AV Node?

The AV node is a tiny "button" of specialized cells (roughly 3 by 5 millimeters in diameter) located near the center of the heart. It is on the right side of the atrial septum at the junction of the atria and the ventricles.

Its job is to help coordinate the contraction of the atria and the ventricles in response to the heart’s electrical signal.

What Does the AV Node Do?

The AV node controls the passage of the heart’s electrical signal from the atria to the ventricles.

After an electrical impulse is generated by the sinus node (located at the top of the right atrium), it spreads across both atria, causing these chambers to beat. The AV node then "gathers" that electrical impulse and, after a brief delay, allows it to pass through to the ventricles.

This brief delay in the transmission of the electrical signal through the AV node is critical to a normal heartbeat and the efficient functioning of the heart.

Clinical Significance

Without this brief delay in the electrical impulse, the atria would not be able to finish beating—allowing the ventricles to completely fill with blood—before the ventricles themselves begin to beat.

Unlike other parts of the heart’s electrical system, the more frequently the AV node is stimulated by electrical impulses, the slower it conducts electricity.

This feature—which is called decremental conduction—becomes very important with (for instance) atrial fibrillation, where the AV node is bombarded by hundreds of electrical impulses per minute. The decremental conduction prevents most of those impulses from reaching the ventricles and keeps the heart rate from becoming dangerously elevated.

Some people are born with two distinct electrical pathways through the AV node, which can make them prone to an arrhythmia called AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT).

Disease of the AV node can cause either a delay or a partial or complete block in the transmission of electrical impulses from the atria to the ventricles, a condition known as heart block.

A delay in conduction through the AV node is seen on the ECG as an increased PR interval. (The PR interval measures the time between atrial contraction and ventricular contraction.)

A prolonged PR interval, produced by a delay in AV nodal conduction is called first-degree AV block. This does not usually cause any symptoms or require specific treatment.

With second degree AV block, some impulses from the atria are blocked from reaching the ventricles. With third-degree AV block, all of the impulses are blocked.

Heart block caused by a problem with the AV node is often related to medications (such as beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers), or by medical problems that increase vagal nerve tone (such as sleep apnea). When these underlying conditions are reversed, the resulting AV node block may disappear on its own without the need for a permanent pacemaker.

Occasionally AV nodal block is significant enough to produce severe bradycardia and insertion of a pacemaker may be required.

One common cause of AV nodal block is likely to require a permanent pacemaker, namely, myocardial infarction (heart attack). The AV node receives its blood supply from the AV nodal artery; in 90% of people this artery branches from the right coronary artery. So AV nodal block due to a heart attack is most commonly seen with right coronary artery heart attacks.

Fortunately, even in these cases the AV node usually recovers sufficiently within a few days to make a permanent pacemaker unnecessary.

A Word From Verywell

The AV node is a very important part of the heart’s electrical system. It transmits the heart’s electrical signal from the atrium to the ventricle, optimizes the coordination of each heartbeat, and, if atrial fibrillation occurs, protects the ventricles from being bombarded with a dangerous number of electrical signals. Disorders of the AV node can produce either tachycardia or bradycardia. 

4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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Additional Reading
Richard N. Fogoros, MD

By Richard N. Fogoros, MD
Richard N. Fogoros, MD, is a retired professor of medicine and board-certified in internal medicine, clinical cardiology, and clinical electrophysiology.