Key result
A computer model of the AV nodes demonstrated that concealed conduction in the slow pathway exerts an electrotonic influence on the fast pathway, shortening its action potential duration.
Why the study?
Does elimination of the slow pathway shorten fast pathway action potential duration via electrotonic interactions in a computer model of the AV node?
Does elimination of the slow pathway shorten fast pathway action potential duration via electrotonic interactions in a computer model of the AV node?
This computer model provides evidence that electrotonic interactions explain the clinical observation of fast pathway effective refractory period shortening after slow pathway ablation in AVNRT.
In patients with atrioventricular (AV) nodal reentrant tachycardia, there exist two functional conducting pathways: a fast pathway with a larger effective refractory period, and a slow pathway with a shorter refractory period. Elimination of the slow pathway cures patients of their arrhythmia. It has been observed clinically that elimination of the slow pathway results in shortening of the effective refractory period of the fast pathway, the mechanism of which is not known. In a computer model of the AV nodes, the authors successfully tested the hypothesis that concealed conduction in the late-activating slow pathway exerts an electrotonic influence on the fast pathway, such that elimination of the slow pathway results in shortening of fast pathway action potential duration. The model consisted of resistively coupled elements exhibiting ionic current kinetics of calcium-driven action potentials.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
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Lesh et al. (2003) studied Atrioventricular (AV) nodal reentrant tachycardia. Computer model of the AV nodes was evaluated on Fast pathway action potential duration. A computer model of the AV nodes demonstrated that concealed conduction in the slow pathway exerts an electrotonic influence on the fast pathway, shortening its action potential duration.
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