Heart Disease

This is a classic example of atrioventricular nodal blocks that can occur with inferior wall myocardial infarctions. There are two mechanisms behind this phenomenon. An inferior wall MI results in vagal stimulation, which enhances vagal tone. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system which causes slowing of the AV node and AV nodal blocks. This is part of the Bezold-Jarisch reflex.