Shien-Fong Lin

TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation and the potential benefit and limitations of neuromodulation in the management of this arrhythmia.

TL;DR: It is concluded that autonomic nerve activity plays an important role in the initiation and maintenance of AF, and modulating autonomic nervous function may contribute to AF control.

TL;DR: Epifluorescence imaging of the transmembrane potential during and after stimulation of both refractory and excitable tissue shows distinctive regions of simultaneous depolarization and hyperpolarization during stimulation that act as virtual cathodes and anodes that confirm bidomain model predictions that the onset of a stimulus induces propagation from the virtual cathode.

TL;DR: Dynamic factors refer to cellular properties of the cardiac action potential and Ca(i) cycling, which dynamically generate wave instability and wavebreak, even in tissue that is initially completely homogeneous, and represent an attractive target for novel therapies to prevent ventricular fibrillation.

TL;DR: Because cryoablation only delayed but did not prevent sustained atrial fibrillation, autonomic nerve activity is not the only factor that determines atrialfibrillation maintenance.