Key result
In a mathematical model of heterogeneous excitable media, spiral waves exhibited anomalous drift towards regions of higher excitability, a mechanism that may promote life-threatening arrhythmias.
Demonstrates that spiral waves can drift towards regions of higher excitability, providing a novel theoretical mechanism for the generation of complex arrhythmias like 'mother rotor' fibrillation.
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Suggests novel mechanism for arrhythmia promotion in heterogeneous tissue; hypothesis-generating and leaves open in vivo relevance pending experimental validation.
We study the drift of spiral waves in a simple model of heterogeneous excitable medium, having gradients in the distribution of ion-channel expression or cellular coupling. We report the anomalous drift of spiral waves toward regions having shorter period or stronger coupling, in reaction-diffusion models of excitable media. Such anomalous drift can promote the onset of complex spatiotemporal patterns, e.g., those responsible for life-threatening arrhythmias in the heart.
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Sridhar et al. (2010) studied Arrhythmias (theoretical model). Gradient in local excitability or cellular coupling vs. Homogeneous medium or normal drift conditions was evaluated on Direction and velocity of spiral wave drift. In a mathematical model of heterogeneous excitable media, spiral waves exhibited anomalous drift towards regions of higher excitability, a mechanism that may promote life-threatening arrhythmias.
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