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Open AccessJournal ArticleDOI

Rotors and the Dynamics of Cardiac Fibrillation

Sandeep V. Pandit, +1 more
- 01 Mar 2013 - 
- Vol. 112, Iss: 5, pp 849-862
TLDR
Examination of recent evidence suggesting that rotors are critical in sustaining both atrial and ventricular fibrillation in the human heart and its implications for treatment with radiofrequency ablation is examined.
Abstract
The objective of this article is to present a broad review of the role of cardiac electric rotors and their accompanying spiral waves in the mechanism of cardiac fibrillation. At the outset, we present a brief historical overview regarding reentry and then discuss the basic concepts and terminologies pertaining to rotors and their initiation. Thereafter, the intrinsic properties of rotors and spiral waves, including phase singularities, wavefront curvature, and dominant frequency maps, are discussed. The implications of rotor dynamics for the spatiotemporal organization of fibrillation, independent of the species being studied, are described next. The knowledge gained regarding the role of cardiac structure in the initiation or maintenance of rotors and the ionic bases of spiral waves in the past 2 decades, as well as the significance for drug therapy, is reviewed subsequently. We conclude by examining recent evidence suggesting that rotors are critical in sustaining both atrial and ventricular fibrillation in the human heart and its implications for treatment with radiofrequency ablation.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI

2017 HRS / EHRA / ECAS / APHRS / SOLAECE expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation

Hugh Calkins, +60 more
- 01 Oct 2017 - 
TL;DR: This 2017 Consensus Statement is to provide a state-of-the-art review of the field of catheter and surgical ablation of AF and to report the findings of a writing group, convened by these five international societies.
Journal ArticleDOI

EHRA/HRS/APHRS/SOLAECE expert consensus on atrial cardiomyopathies: Definition, characterization, and clinical implication

TL;DR: The working group proposes the following working definition of atrial cardiomyopathy: ‘Any complex of structural, architectural, contractile or electrophysiological changes affecting the atria with the potential to produce clinically-relevant manifestations’ (Table 1).
Journal ArticleDOI

Role of the Autonomic Nervous System in Atrial Fibrillation: Pathophysiology and Therapy

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.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Genetic Manipulation of Cardiac K Channel Function in Mice What Have We Learned, and Where Do We Go From Here?

TL;DR: What has been learned from the in situ genetic manipulation of cardiac K+ channel functioning in the mouse is summarized, the limitations of the models developed to date are discussed, and the likely directions of future research are explored.
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Comparative mechanisms of antiarrhythmic drug action in experimental atrial fibrillation. Importance of use-dependent effects on refractoriness

TL;DR: It is concluded that antiarrhythmic drugs terminate experimental atrial fibrillation by increasing the wavelength for reentry at rapid rates, leading to a reduction in the number of functional reentry circuits and, eventually, failure of reentrant excitation.
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Patterned growth of neonatal rat heart cells in culture. Morphological and electrophysiological characterization.

TL;DR: In this paper, a culture method was developed that permits patterning of the growth of ventricular myocytes of neonatal rats, where regions were created on the culture substrate that either prevented (photoresist coat) or supported (glass surface) attachment of cells.
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Merocyanine 540 as an optical probe of transmembrane electrical activity in the heart

TL;DR: Frog hearts stained with merocyanine 540 shows a 1.5 to 2.0 percent increase in fluorescence intensity at 585 nanometers during the cardiac action potential when excited with a 540-nonometer light beam, which in spontaneously pacing hearts is due to the slow propagation of the electrical signal.
Journal ArticleDOI

Left-to-right atrial inward rectifier potassium current gradients in patients with paroxysmal versus chronic atrial fibrillation.

TL;DR: The hypothesis that a left-to-right gradient in inward rectifier background current contributes to high-frequency sources in LA that maintain atrial fibrillation is supported and has potentially important implications for development of atrial-selective therapeutic approaches.
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