what is an ectopic pacemaker?

Answer 1

Pace maker is one which can emit electrical impulses.{e.g., in heart, pacemaker is SA node(sinoatrial node)}.
Ectopic is one which is occuring outside of their normal site.
Presence of ectopic pacemaker means there's a point which situated outside of normal site which can emit impulses.
[e.g., some people have ectopic pacemakers in atrial wall or ventricle wall which also emit impulses like SA node] {which lead to ectopic beats of heart (extra and irregular beats) which can be seen in ECG/EKG}

Answer 2

Normally there is this SA node (sino-atrial node) which acts as a pace maker. It gives out electrical impulses regularly like a spark plug in a vehicle does, and this impulse then travels all through the heart muscles, and is supposed to provide the exacting impulse on the heart muscles on when to contract. This electrical circuit bifurcates into two channels for the left and the right heart as it goes. Prior to this there is a AV Node (atrio-ventricular node) which is directly connected from the SA node.

Now if there is a disturbance in this electrical circuit which is normally supposed to generate muscle contraction simultaneously so that an effective contraction of the heart occurs which pushes out all the blood that comes and gets stored in it, the muscle contraction would not be proper. Sometimes as a result of ischemia, metabolic disorders, infections, or cardiomyopathy, the job of SA Node becomes poorly governed, irregular or absent. In such cases, another nodal focus appears anywhere in the remaining electrical circuit so as to overcome the deficiency caused by the poor functioning of SA node. This becomes the ectopic focus and is an inbuilt phenomena of protection when SA node fails. It may be a sustainable and somewhat coordinated effort so that the heart keeps pumping or it may be erratic/chaotic so that all efforts of pumping are ineffective, by the impulses being uncoordinated and the circuit becoming totally unpredictable and chaotic.

One may also think of an ectopic pacemaker like a generator which takes on when there is a power failure. However, since this ‘generator’ has never been put to test earlier, may or maynot be able to provide a backup support when the SA node is defective or the generator is switched on while the main power supply is still on. Treatment requires either a pacemaker or radio-ablation of the alternative focus of impulse generation (ectopic pacemaker).

Answer 3

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RE:
what is an ectopic pacemaker?

Answer 4

Ectopic Atrial Pacemaker

In an atrial pacemaker very close to the SA node, the P wave will not appear rounded with the standard amplitude and duration of a normal P wave. It may be peaked or bi-peaked. The key is that it will have a different appearance than the nicely rounded normal P wave of the SA node.
The QRS complex and T waves will be normal in their appearance, duration and amplitude.

Answer 5

your answer may be "ectopic" .There is no pacemaker that ends with "e" it must be "c". And just for your knowledge these may be AV node, Myocardium