Areas of Effectiveness of Defibrillating Pulse in the Energy/Phase Diagram for the Fibrillation Cycle on the Cardiomyocyte Model

In the BeatBox simulation environment on the human heart ventricle myocyte model ten Tusscher-Panfilov 2006 the efficiency areas of the depolarizing defibrillation pulse in the energy/phase diagram for the fibrillation cycle are investigated. At any energy levels, the depolarizing pulse does not provide a long-term extension of refractoriness of all heart cardiomyocytes in different phases of the excitation wave cycle, but at a certain energy level, refractoriness is long-term extended in 90% of the cardiomyocytes in different phases of the fibrillation wave cycle. At high energy levels, the action of the depolarizing pulse leads to a one-time extension of the refractory period of cardiomyocytes to values exceeding the duration of the fibrillation wave period. Presumably long-term extension of refractoriness of cardiomiocites at low energy of depolarising pulse and one-time extension of refractoriness of all cardiomiocites at high energy of depolarising pulse are the mechanisms of defibrillation.