An action potential is the change in voltage along the membrane of a cardiac muscle cell or a neurone whenever an electrical impulse travels alongs it.
The AP is sent to each muscle cell to tell it when to contract because each muscle cell must contract at exactly the same time to push the blood out of the heart whenever the heart beats.
Electricity can be conducted as the human body contains a high proportion of water with dissolved salt in it. The APs are conducted through the body to the skin. This is where the APs can be detected to produce an ECG (electrocardiogram)
An ECG is an image of the electrical signals by the heart.
It can be used to monitor heart action - the ECG can diagnose heart problems such as damaged muscles or blockades.
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