M. Pop (Canada), M. Sermesant (France, UK), A. Dick (Canada), Y. Coudiere (France), and G.A. Wright (Canada)
Cardiovascular modeling, arrhythmia, 3D model reentry
Lethal arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) are associated with structural heart disease and can be related to heart rates higher than 150 beats/min. This provides a strong motivation to study: i) physical conditions that favor their inducibility, and ii) physical parameters which determine their cycle length. In this work we developed a three dimensional (3D) theoretical model that predicts, based on Finite Element methods, abnormal propagation of action potential (AP) associated with anatomic reentry (a re-excitation of the myocardium, caused by waves circulating around infarct scars through a narrow channel of slow conduction). Reentries associated with the ventricles generate high heart rhythms called ventricular tachycardias. Via simulations of electrical activity, we studied the physical conditions favoring the inducibility of reentrant VT. The simulations were produced for a 3D virtual slab of tissue (2.5x2.5x1cm). Simulation results show that the VT cycle length depends on the perimeter of the obstacles and the conduction velocity in the channel. We studied the effect of the physical parameters such as tissue conductivity, anisotropy of the fibers and cross-section of the channel (called isthmus) on tissue conduction velocity, and further on the VT cycle length.
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