What term describes the ability of non-pacemaker heart cells to respond to an electrical impulse?

The term that describes the ability of non-pacemaker heart cells to respond to an electrical impulse is excitability. This property is crucial because it allows these heart cells to react to electrical stimuli, enabling the heart muscle to contract and coordinate effectively during the cardiac cycle. Excitability refers to how responsive a cell is to external electrical signals, which is vital for maintaining a regular heartbeat and ensuring that the heart functions optimally.

Conductivity describes the ability of heart cells to transmit electrical impulses from one cell to another, facilitating the spread of action potentials throughout the myocardium. Contractility refers to the strength of the heart's muscle contraction, and depolarization is the process by which a cell's membrane potential becomes less negative in response to an electrical impulse. While all these terms relate to heart function, excitability specifically highlights the responsiveness of non-pacemaker cells to electrical stimuli.