scispace - formally typeset
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.

read more

Citations
More filters
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
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI

Spiral Waves in Two-Dimensional Models of Ventricular Muscle: Formation of a Stationary Core

TL;DR: The data demonstrate that stable spiral wave activity can occur in small cardiac sheets whose wavelength during planar wave excitation in the longitudinal direction is larger than the size of the sheet, and set the stage for an understanding of functional reentry in terms of ionic mechanisms.
Journal ArticleDOI

Up-regulation of the inward rectifier K+ current (IK1) in the mouse heart accelerates and stabilizes rotors

TL;DR: Simulations suggested that the TG hearts allowed such a fast and stable rotor because of both greater outward conductance at the core and shortened action potential duration in the core vicinity, as well as increased excitability, in part due to faster recovery of Na+ current.
Journal ArticleDOI

Mechanisms of Atrial Fibrillation Termination by Pure Sodium Channel Blockade in an Ionically-Realistic Mathematical Model

TL;DR: It is concluded that pure INa inhibition terminates atrial fibrillation, producing activation changes consistent with previous clinical and experimental observations, providing insights into previously enigmatic mechanisms of class I antiarrhythmic drug-induced AF termination.
Journal ArticleDOI

Spatiotemporal Transition to Conduction Block in Canine Ventricle

TL;DR: In both the experiments and the computer models, rapid periodic pacing induced marked spatiotemporal heterogeneity of cellular electrical properties, culminating in paroxysmal conduction block, which resulted from a nonuniform distribution of action potential duration alternans, secondary to alternans of conduction velocity.
Journal ArticleDOI

Optical mapping of drug-induced polymorphic arrhythmias and torsade de pointes in the isolated rabbit heart.

TL;DR: Testing the hypothesis that in the setting of bradycardia and drug-induced action potential prolongation, multiple foci of early afterdepolarizations (EADs) result in beat to beat changes in the origin and direction of the excitation wave front and are responsible for polymorphic arrhythmias found it necessary to observe focal activity of varying origins and propagation patterns.
Related Papers (5)