Mechanical model of the left ventricle of the heart approximated by axisymmetric geometry

Abstract An axisymmetric model is suggested to simulate mechanical performance of the left ventricle of the heart. Cardiac muscle is treated as incompressible anisotropic material with active tension directed along muscle fibres. This tension depends on kinetic variables that characterize interaction of contractile proteins and regulation of muscle contraction by calcium ions. For numerical simulation of heartbeats the finite element method was implemented. The model reproduces well changes in ventricle geometry between systole and diastole, ejection fraction, pulse wave of ventricular and arterial pressure typical for normal human heart. The model also reproduces well the dependence of the stroke volume on end-diastolic and arterial pressures (the Frank–Starling law of the heart and Anrep effect). The results demonstrate that our model of cardiac muscle can be successfully applied to multiscale 3D simulation of the heart.