Key result
Computational modeling shows stretch-activated current strength can prevent the onset of alternans bifurcation.
Why the study?
Mechano-electric feedback affects action potential duration depending on cycle length, but the underlying mechanisms and its effects on cardiac alternans onset remain to be elucidated.
Does stretch-activated current affect the onset of alternans in a computational model of cardiac tissue?
Does stretch-activated current affect the onset of alternans in a computational model of cardiac tissue?
Computational modeling demonstrates that stretch-activated currents can prevent alternans bifurcation depending on their strength, highlighting the role of mechano-electric feedback in cardiac electrophysiology.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Highlights potential mechano-electric feedback effects on alternans; leaves open clinical translation and arrhythmia prevention strategies.
Cardiac alternans is a heart rhythm instability that is associated with cardiac arrhythmias and may lead to sudden cardiac death. The onset of this instability, which is linked to period-doubling bifurcation and may be a route to chaos, is of particular interest. Mechano-electric feedback depicts the effects of tissue deformation on cardiac excitation. The main effect of mechano-electric feedback is delivered via the so-called stretch-activated ion channels and is caused by stretch-activated currents. Mechano-electric feedback, which is believed to have proarrhythmic and antiarrhythmic effects on cardiac electrophysiology, affects the action potential duration in a manner dependent on cycle length, but the mechanisms by which this occurs remain to be elucidated. In this study, a biophysically detailed electromechanical model of cardiac tissue is employed to show how a stretch-activated current can affect the action potential duration at cellular and tissue levels, illustrating its effects on the onset of alternans. Also, using a two-dimensional iterated map that incorporates stretch-activated current effects, we apply linear stability analysis to study the stability of the bifurcation. We show that alternans bifurcation can be prevented depending on the strength of the stretch-activated current.
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Hazim et al. (2019) studied Cardiac alternans. Stretch-activated current modeling was evaluated on Onset of alternans and stability of bifurcation. Computational modeling of cardiac tissue demonstrated that the onset of alternans bifurcation can be prevented depending on the strength of the stretch-activated current.
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