A last wave from the dying heart
Article Abstract:
The ventricle muscle of the heart contracts 10 times quicker than the heart rate immediately prior to death. No blood is pumped through and rapid death is inevitable. Research on animal hearts during fibrillation, brought on by electrical stimulation, shows that there is considerable spatial and temporal order during the fibrillation. Fibrillation is possibly caused by re-entrant spiral waves of excitation which turn around a central point. These spiral waves have been demonstrated on computer simulations but have not been demonstrated in real hearts.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1998
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Spatial and temporal organisation during cardiac fibrillation
Article Abstract:
The medical profession is uncertain how cardiac fibrillation occurs yet it is the main cause of death in the western world. A new algorithm has been calculated which simplifies the process of depicting complex spatiotemporal patterns of fibrillation. Potentiometric dye plus video imaging were used to record the activity which occurs during fibrillation. The results suggest that considerable spatial and temporal organisation occurs during fibrillation.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1998
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Spatiotemporal evolution of ventricular fibrillation
Article Abstract:
Most cardiac deaths are caused by ventricular fibrillation which makes the heart unable to work effectively. Re-entrant rotating spiral waves may be present during ventricular fibrillation but they have been hard to detect. However, recent research on isolated perfuse hearts from dogs has shown that high spatial and temporal resolution mapping can spot these waves during at the beginning of ventricular fibrillation.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1998
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