Electroporation of heart tissue occurs during clinically relevant defibrillation shocks and can affect therapy outcomes by being both pro- and anti-arrhythmic.
Does electroporation occur during clinically relevant defibrillation shocks and affect therapy outcomes?
This review highlights that electroporation occurs during standard defibrillation and can influence therapy outcomes by being both pro- and anti-arrhythmic.
Defibrillation shocks are commonly used to terminate life-threatening arrhythmias. According to the excitation theory of defibrillation, such shocks are aimed at depolarizing the membranes of most cardiac cells resulting in resynchronization of electrical activity in the heart. If shock-induced changes in transmembrane potential are large enough, they can cause transient tissue damage due to electroporation. In this review evidence is presented that (a) electroporation of the heart tissue can occur during clinically relevant intensities of the external electrical field, and (b) electroporation can affect the outcome of defibrillation therapy; being both pro- and anti-arrhythmic.
Nikolski et al. (Sat,) conducted a review in Life-threatening arrhythmias. Defibrillation shocks was evaluated. Electroporation of heart tissue occurs during clinically relevant defibrillation shocks and can affect therapy outcomes by being both pro- and anti-arrhythmic.