Atrioventricular Conduction in Atrial Fibrillation: Pathophysiology and Clinical Implications

The atrioventricular (AV) node is the only conduction pathway between the atria and ventricles, it is located at the base of the right atrium. The conduction through the atrioventricular node is slow to allow the atria to pump blood into the ventricles before they contract. It also acts as a backup pacemaker, in case the sinoatrial node fails and limits the number of action potentials conducted to the ventricles during atrial fibrillation (AF). Despite this filtering function, adequate ventricular rate control in atrial fibrillation often requires utilization of pharmacological and/or non-pharmacological treatment modalities.