Chronotropy

Chronotropy

Chronotropy (pronounced: kroh-NAH-troh-pee) is a term used in medicine and physiology to describe the change in heart rate caused by chemical factors or neurological influences. The term is derived from the Greek words "chronos" meaning time and "tropos" meaning turn.

Etymology

The term "Chronotropy" is derived from the Greek words "chronos" (χρόνος), meaning "time", and "tropos" (τρόπος), meaning "turn". It is used to describe the effect of time on the heart's rate and rhythm.

Related Terms

• Inotropy: Refers to the force of heart muscle contraction.
• Dromotropy: Refers to the conduction velocity (speed of electrical transmission) within the heart.
• Lusitropy: Refers to the rate of relaxation of the heart muscle during diastole.
• Bathmotropy: Refers to the change in excitability of a cell membrane in response to a stimulus.

See Also

• Cardiac physiology
• Heart rate
• Autonomic nervous system

References

• Medical textbooks
• Medical journals

This WikiMD.org article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.