Electrical restitution and spatiotemporal organization during ventricular fibrillation

Electrical restitution and spatiotemporal ...

Title	Electrical restitution and spatiotemporal organization during ventricular fibrillation
Author(s)	M. Riccio, M. Koller, R. Gilmour
Journal	Circulation Research
Date	1999
Volume	84
Issue	8
Start page	955
End page	963
Abstract	Despite recent advances in our understanding of the mechanism for ventricular fibrillation (VF), important electrophysiological aspects of the development of VF still are poorly defined. It has been suggested that the onset of VF involves the disintegration of a single spiral wave into many self-perpetuating waves. It has been further suggested that such a process requires that the slope of the electrical restitution relation be >/=1. The same theory anticipates that a single spiral wave will be stable (not disintegrate) if the maximum slope of the restitution relation is /=1 in canine ventricle. We now show that drugs that reduce the slope of the restitution relation (diacetyl monoxime and verapamil) prevent the induction of VF and convert existing VF into a periodic rhythm. In contrast, a drug that does not reduce the slope of the restitution relation (procainamide) does not prevent the induction of VF, nor does it regularize VF. These results indicate that the kinetics of electrical restitution is a key determinant of VF. Moreover, they suggest novel approaches to preventing the induction or maintenance of VF.
ISSN	0009-7330
Use/Reproduction	Contact Publisher
Text	http://www.islandscholar.ca/download_ds/ir:3148/PDF

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