Cardiac Electrophysiology from First Principles

A free, self-paced course for cardiology trainees. Work through the lessons in order, pause before revealing each case answer, and use the transcripts and references for revision.

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1. The electrical impulse: from one cell to a wave — distinguish cellular electrical activity, propagation and what an ECG records.
2. Conduction and refractoriness: when the next impulse arrives early — explore how timing and tissue readiness affect conduction.
3. How re-entry starts: one impulse, repeated activation — build a step-by-step understanding of a re-entry mechanism.
4. Understanding intracardiac recordings — connect recorded signals with the electrical events they represent.
5. Timing the electrical sequence — practise identifying events and measuring intervals.
6. Pacing as a diagnostic experiment — use a pacing response to test a proposed mechanism.
7. Understanding AVNRT and AVRT — compare the mechanisms and their diagnostic clues.
8. Reasoning through a simulated EP study — bring the observations together and distinguish inference from proof.

Lessons 1–2 · Lessons 3–4 · Lessons 5–6 · Lessons 7–8

Open a lesson panel, then choose the transcript, three clinical cases or supporting sources. Try each case before revealing its answer and reasoning.

If the embedded player does not start, use a lesson link above to watch directly on YouTube. You can study the complete transcripts and cases here without playing the videos.

Send course feedback or corrections, including the lesson number and video timestamp or case number. Version: November 2026.