Published online before print August 1, 2002, doi: 10.1161/01.RES.0000031957.70034.89
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Submitted on February 27, 2002
Revised on July 19, 2002
Accepted on July 22, 2002
Cardiac Microstructure. Implications for Electrical Propagation and Defibrillation in the Heart
Darren A. Hooks *;
From the Bioengineering Research Group, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: d.hooks{at}auckland.ac.nz.
Our understanding of the electrophysiological properties of the heart is incomplete. We have investigated two issues that are fundamental to advancing that understanding. First, there has been widespread debate over the mechanisms by which an externally applied shock can influence a sufficient volume of heart tissue to terminate cardiac fibrillation. Second, it has been uncertain whether cardiac tissue should be viewed as an electrically orthotropic structure, or whether its electrical properties are, in fact, isotropic in the plane orthogonal to myofiber direction. In the present study, a computer model that incorporates a detailed three-dimensional representation of cardiac muscular architecture is used to investigate these issues. We describe a bidomain model of electrical propagation solved in a discontinuous domain that accurately represents the microstructure of a transmural block of rat left ventricle. From analysis of the model results, we conclude that (1) the laminar organization of myocytes determines unique electrical properties in three microstructurally defined directions at any point in the ventricular wall of the heart, and (2) interlaminar clefts between layers of cardiomyocytes provide a substrate for bulk activation of the ventricles during defibrillation.
Key words: bidomain model • defibrillation • finite elements • anisotropy • discontinuous conduction
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  D. A. Pijnappels, M. J. Schalij, A. A. Ramkisoensing, J. van Tuyn, A. A.F. de Vries, A. van der Laarse, D. L. Ypey, and D. E. Atsma Forced Alignment of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Undergoing Cardiomyogenic Differentiation Affects Functional Integration With Cardiomyocyte Cultures Circ. Res., July 18, 2008; 103(2): 167 - 176. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 V. Jacquemet and C. S. Henriquez Loading effect of fibroblast-myocyte coupling on resting potential, impulse propagation, and repolarization: insights from a microstructure model Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, May 1, 2008; 294(5): H2040 - H2052. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Cabo Modulation of impulse propagation by fibroblasts Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, May 1, 2008; 294(5): H1992 - H1993. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. A. Hooks, M. L. Trew, B. J. Caldwell, G. B. Sands, I. J. LeGrice, and B. H. Smaill Laminar Arrangement of Ventricular Myocytes Influences Electrical Behavior of the Heart Circ. Res., November 9, 2007; 101(10): e103 - e112. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. A. MacCannell, H. Bazzazi, L. Chilton, Y. Shibukawa, R. B. Clark, and W. R. Giles A Mathematical Model of Electrotonic Interactions between Ventricular Myocytes and Fibroblasts Biophys. J., June 1, 2007; 92(11): 4121 - 4132. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. Noble From the Hodgkin-Huxley axon to the virtual heart J. Physiol., April 1, 2007; 580(1): 15 - 22. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. E. Pollard and R. C. Barr Cardiac microimpedance measurement in two-dimensional models using multisite interstitial stimulation Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, May 1, 2006; 290(5): H1976 - H1987. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. P. Lunkenheimer, K. Redmann, P. Westermann, K. Rothaus, C. W. Cryer, P. Niederer, and R. H. Anderson The myocardium and its fibrous matrix working in concert as a spatially netted mesh: a critical review of the purported tertiary structure of the ventricular mass Eur. J. Cardiothorac. Surg., April 1, 2006; 29(Suppl_1): S41 - S49. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. L. Trew, B. J. Caldwell, G. B. Sands, D. A. Hooks, D. C.-S. Tai, T. M. Austin, I. J. LeGrice, A. J. Pullan, and B. H. Smaill Cardiac electrophysiology and tissue structure: bridging the scale gap with a joint measurement and modelling paradigm Exp Physiol, March 1, 2006; 91(2): 355 - 370. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. Trayanova Defibrillation of the heart: insights into mechanisms from modelling studies Exp Physiol, March 1, 2006; 91(2): 323 - 337. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. W. Zemlin, S. Mironov, and A. M. Pertsov Near-threshold field stimulation: Intramural versus surface activation Cardiovasc Res, January 1, 2006; 69(1): 98 - 106. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Hunter and P. Nielsen A Strategy for Integrative Computational Physiology Physiology, October 1, 2005; 20(5): 316 - 325. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Brown Cardiac extracellular matrix: a dynamic entity Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, September 1, 2005; 289(3): H973 - H974. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. Kofidis, J. L. de Bruin, T. Yamane, M. Tanaka, D. R. Lebl, R.-J. Swijnenburg, I. L. Weissman, and R. C. Robbins Stimulation of Paracrine Pathways With Growth Factors Enhances Embryonic Stem Cell Engraftment and Host-Specific Differentiation in the Heart After Ischemic Myocardial Injury Circulation, May 17, 2005; 111(19): 2486 - 2493. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
F. J. Vetter, S. B. Simons, S. Mironov, C. J. Hyatt, and A. M. Pertsov Epicardial Fiber Organization in Swine Right Ventricle and Its Impact on Propagation Circ. Res., February 4, 2005; 96(2): 244 - 251. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. Nickerson, N. Smith, and P. Hunter New developments in a strongly coupled cardiac electromechanical model Europace, January 1, 2005; 7(s2): S118 - S127. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. H. L. Kuijpers, R. H. Keldermann, T. Arts, and P. A. J. Hilbers Computer simulations of successful defibrillation in decoupled and non-uniform cardiac tissue Europace, January 1, 2005; 7(s2): S166 - S177. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. L. Winslow and J. L. Greenstein The Ongoing Journey to Understand Heart Function Through Integrative Modeling Circ. Res., December 10, 2004; 95(12): 1135 - 1136. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. Ashihara and N. A. Trayanova Asymmetry in Membrane Responses to Electric Shocks: Insights from Bidomain Simulations Biophys. J., October 1, 2004; 87(4): 2271 - 2282. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. Noble Modeling the Heart Physiology, August 1, 2004; 19(4): 191 - 197. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. Yagi, J. Shimizu, S. Mohri, J. Araki, K. Nakamura, H. Okuyama, H. Toyota, T. Morimoto, Y. Morizane, M. Kurusu, et al. X-ray Diffraction from a Left Ventricular Wall of Rat Heart Biophys. J., April 1, 2004; 86(4): 2286 - 2294. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Kohl Heterogeneous Cell Coupling in the Heart: An Electrophysiological Role for Fibroblasts Circ. Res., September 5, 2003; 93(5): 381 - 383. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|