Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiaoyi He, Libing Li, Wenhong Xu, Shengli Jiang
Summary: Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is a fatal arrhythmia with a high incidence in cardiac patients. VF arrest under perfusion is a neglected method of intraoperative arrest in cardiac surgery. This study aimed to develop a reliable animal model of chronic ventricular fibrillation. The results showed that continuous low-voltage epicardial AC stimulation is recommended for its high success rate, stability, reliability, reproducibility, low impact on cardiac function, and mild myocardial injury.
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2023)
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Ji-Fang Ma, You Zhou, Hai-Xia Fu
Summary: This review analyzes the phenomenon of fever-induced ventricular fibrillation in patients with structurally normal hearts and its associated diseases.
FRONTIERS IN CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Matthijs J. M. Cluitmans, Laura R. Bear, Uyen C. Nguyen, Bianca van Rees, Job Stoks, Rachel M. A. ter Bekke, Casper Mihl, Jordi Heijman, Kevin D. Lau, Edward Vigmond, Jason Bayer, Charly N. W. Belterman, Emma Abell, Louis Labrousse, Julien Rogier, Olivier Bernus, Michel Haissaguerre, Rutger J. Hassink, Remi Dubois, Ruben Coronel, Paul G. A. Volders
Summary: This study shows that vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation is related to the steepness of RT gradient and size of early RT areas, rather than markers on the body-surface electrocardiogram. Patients with idiopathic VF have steeper RT gradients and more balanced early versus late RT regions compared to controls.
SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Yi Zhang, Ying Qi, Jing-Jing Li, Wen-Jin He, Xiao-Hang Gao, Yu Zhang, Xia Sun, Jie Tong, Jianbao Zhang, Xiu-Ling Deng, Xiao-Jun Du, Wenjun Xie
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the role of diastolic sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ leak induced by mechanical stretch in atrial myocytes due to elevated pressure in the left atrium (LA) in the development of atrial fibrillation (AF). The results demonstrated that increased SR Ca2+ leak mediated by enhanced oxidative stress in left atrial myocytes is causatively associated with higher AF susceptibility in pressure-overloaded hearts.
CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biology
Xiuming Dong, Gary Tse, Guoliang Hao, Yimei Du
Summary: This study investigated the effects of heptanol on ventricular conduction abnormalities using a multi-electrode array mapping technique. The results showed that heptanol reduced heart rate, increased activation latencies, and caused conduction inhomogeneity.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Zheng Liu, Yu Xia, Changyan Guo, Xiaofeng Li, Pihua Fang, Xiandong Yin, Xinchun Yang
Summary: LVZ has different associations with AF initiation, perpetuation, and termination depending on its size and distribution. Segmental LVZ% differences were observed in the anterior wall for inducible AF patients, extended to the septum in sustainable AF patients, and finally affected the roof, posterior wall, and floor in interminable AF patients.
FRONTIERS IN CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Carmen Tarifa, Selma A. Serra, Adela Herraiz-Martinez, Estefania Lozano-Velasco, Raul Benitez, Amelia Aranega, Diego Franco, Leif Hove-Madsen
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Pitx2c expression and calcium release and electrical activity in atrial myocytes. By using confocal calcium imaging and patch-clamp techniques, it was found that Pitx2c deletion leads to calcium homeostasis imbalance and abnormal electrical activity, which resemble the abnormalities observed in right atrial myocytes from patients with AF.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tuan Minh Hoang-Trong, Aman Ullah, William Jonathan Lederer, Mohsin Saleet Jafri
Summary: This study introduces a three-dimensional stochastic computational model for rat ventricular myocytes that incorporates detailed calcium dynamics, non-uniform release site placement, non-uniform membrane ionic currents and membrane buffers, stochastic calcium-leak dynamics, and non-junctional ryanodine receptors. The model simulates spark-induced spark activation and spark-induced Ca2+ wave initiation and propagation under conditions of calcium overload.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Josephine Eskaf, William J. Cleveland, Matthias L. Riess
Summary: The study showed that P188 postconditioning did not directly improve mitochondrial function in the heart in the ex-vivo IR injury model. Neither further P188 nor PEG induced direct mitochondrial protection after IR injury in this model.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Yu -Shan Chien, Chi-Jen Weng, Shang-Ju Wu, Cheng-Hung Li, Jiunn-Cherng Lin, Jin-Long Huang, Shien-Fong Lin, Yenn-Jiang Lin, Yu-Cheng Hsieh, Shih-Ann Chen
Summary: Therapeutic hypothermia increases the risk of ventricular arrhythmias, while levosimendan can shorten action potential duration and attenuate arrhythmogenic spatially discordant alternans by enhancing ATP-sensitive K current. The study shows that during therapeutic hypothermia, levosimendan can protect against ventricular arrhythmias by shortening action potential duration and decreasing the threshold for spatially discordant alternans.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Praloy Chakraborty, Stephane Masse, Mohammed Ali Azam, Catherine Thollon, Ahmed Niri, Patrick F. H. Lai, Muriel Bouly, Sheila Riazi, Kumaraswamy Nanthakumar
Summary: The study found that treatment with azumolene after ischemia-reperfusion can reduce cardiac alternans, improve calcium and voltage alternans, and therefore reduce the risk of proarrhythmia.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Marina Vitale, Angelita Tottene, Maral Zarin Zadeh, K. C. Brennan, Daniela Pietrobon
Summary: This study investigated the mechanisms of cortical spreading depression (CSD) initiation by applying high KCl puffs in mouse cerebral cortex slices. The results showed that the initiation of CSD requires the combined action of NMDARs and Ca-V channels, and is not determined by extracellular K+ concentration or neuronal depolarization levels.
JOURNAL OF HEADACHE AND PAIN
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Masayuki Takahashi, Hisashi Yokoshiki, Hirofumi Mitsuyama, Masaya Watanabe, Taro Temma, Rui Kamada, Hikaru Hagiwara, Yumi Takahashi, Toshihisa Anzai
Summary: The study demonstrates that the blocker apamin, which targets small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels, has anti-arrhythmic effects by improving action potential duration shortening and calcium handling abnormalities in ventricular myocardium. This effect is likely attributed to the reduction of Ca-i/V-m uncoupling.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-HEART AND CIRCULATORY PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Sophie L. Fayad, Guillaume Ourties, Benjamin Le Gac, Baptiste Jouffre, Sylvain Lamoine, Antoine Fruquiere, Sophie Laffray, Laila Gasmi, Bruno Cauli, Christophe Mallet, Emmanuel Bourinet, Thomas Bessaih, Regis C. Lambert, Nathalie Leresche, Gary L. Westbrook
Summary: Cav3.2 channels expressed in GABAergic neurons in the anterior pretectum contribute to high-frequency bursting activity and play a role in neuropathic pain.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anastasia Khokhlova, Tatiana Myachina, Xenia Butova, Anastasia Kochurova, Ekaterina Polyakova, Michael Galagudza, Olga Solovyova, Galina Kopylova, Daniil Shchepkin
Summary: Leptin modulates cardiac functions by affecting the mechanical function and phosphorylation state of cardiomyocytes. However, there are differences in the effects of leptin on atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes, which may be associated with the expression of leptin receptors and signaling pathways.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Guillem Muntane-Carol, Marina Urena, Luis Nombela-Franco, Ignacio Amat-Santos, Neal Kleiman, Antonio Munoz-Garcia, Felipe Atienza, Vicenc Serra, Marc W. Deyell, Gabriela Veiga-Fernandez, Jean-Bernard Masson, Victoria Canadas-Godoy, Dominique Himbert, Javier Castrodeza, Jaime Elizaga, Jaume Francisco Pascual, John G. Webb, Jose M. de la Torre Hernandez, Lluis Asmarats, Emilie Pelletier-Beaumont, Francois Philippon, Josep Rodes-Cabau
Summary: Patients with new-onset LBBB post-TAVR experience a high burden of arrhythmic events within 2 years, with predominance of high-degree AV block requiring PPM implantation in the early phase.
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Ana Maria Sanchez de la Nava, Felipe Atienza, Javier Bermejo, Francisco Fernandez-Aviles
Summary: Artificial intelligence algorithms are well-suited for treating high-dimensional data in atrial fibrillation. Analyzing large patient samples with different information sources can improve diagnostic algorithms. AI techniques can be used to understand the structural and functional bases of the disease, improve early noninvasive diagnosis, develop more efficient therapies, and predict long-term clinical outcomes of patients with AF.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-HEART AND CIRCULATORY PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Miguel Angel Camara-Vazquez, Ismael Hernandez-Romero, Miguel Rodrigo, Felipe Alonso-Atienza, Carlos Figuera, Eduardo Morgado-Reyes, Felipe Atienza, Maria S. Guillem, Andreu M. Climent, Oscar Barquero-Perez
Summary: This study proposes an ECGI method that incorporates intracardiac measurements as a constraint, with more reliable and accurate reconstructions compared to the classical Tikhonov approach in atrial fibrillation conditions. The method shows more accurate spatial mass functions and outperforms the classical Tikhonov approach when tested on real patient data. Further research will focus on endocardium-epicardium bilayer model approximations and validation using more real patient data.
BIOMEDICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING AND CONTROL
(2021)
Article
Physiology
Miguel Angel Camara-Vazquez, Ismael Hernandez-Romero, Eduardo Morgado-Reyes, Maria S. Guillem, Andreu M. Climent, Oscar Barquero-Perez
Summary: This study proposes using convolutional neural networks to model the location of AF drivers from body surface potentials as a supervised classification problem, showing promising accuracy in the test set. This method could potentially serve as a robust tool to non-invasively identify ablation target regions for AF.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Gema Prats-Boluda, Maria S. Guillem, Miguel Rodrigo, Ye-Lin Yiyao, Javier Garcia-Casado
Summary: Due to the increasing prevalence of atrial fibrillation, accurate diagnosis and treatment are crucial. In this study, the use of body surface Laplacian potential mapping with BC-ECG signals showed better performance in detecting and quantifying atrial fibrillation activity compared to conventional unipolar signals.
COMPUTERS IN BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Jennifer Riccio, Alejandro Alcaine, Sara Rocher, Laura Martinez-Mateu, Javier Saiz, Eric Invers-Rubio, Maria S. Guillem, Juan Pablo Martinez, Pablo Laguna
Summary: Atrial fibrosis plays a crucial role in the development of atrial fibrillation. This study proposes the use of the dominant-to-remaining eigenvalue dominance ratio (EIGDR) from unipolar electrograms as a measure of fibrosis, which was validated through simulations and real data. The results show that this method outperforms traditional bipolar electrogram voltage measurements in detecting fibrosis.
MEDICAL & BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
(2022)
Article
Physiology
Ruben Molero, Ana Gonzalez-Ascaso, Ismael Hernandez-Romero, David Lundback-Mompo, Andreu M. Climent, Maria S. Guillem
Summary: This study investigates the influence of the number of nodes of geometrical meshes and recording ECG electrodes distribution on computing electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) during atrial fibrillation (AF). The results suggest that the effect of mesh density is minimal when the location of the electrode is preserved as a node in the mesh. Therefore, torso meshes should contain at least 400 nodes homogeneously distributed when constructing ECGI models.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Ismael Hernandez-Romero, Ruben Molero, Carlos Fambuena-Santos, Clara Herrero-Martin, Andreu M. Climent, Maria S. Guillem
Summary: The inverse problem of electrocardiography or electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) is a technique used to reconstruct electrical information about cardiac surfaces from noninvasive or non-contact recordings. It has been applied in the research and clinical diagnosis of atrial arrhythmias, but there are still challenges in characterizing these arrhythmias that need to be addressed.
MEDICAL & BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Ruben Molero, Ismael Hernandez-Romero, Andreu M. Climent, Maria S. Guillem
Summary: The objective of this study is to identify the best post-processing configuration for reentrant activity detection in atrial fibrillation patients after catheter ablation. Comparing different post-processing methods and rotor duration thresholds, it was found that using the raw ECGI signals with a threshold of 1 turn can better differentiate patients with good prognosis.
BIOMEDICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING AND CONTROL
(2023)
Editorial Material
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Maria S. Guillem, Margarida Pujol-Lopez, Jorge Sanchez-Arciniegas, Lluis Mont
JOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Ruben Molero, Ana Gonzalez-Ascaso, Andreu M. Climent, Maria S. Guillem
Summary: In this study, the errors of using inaccurate heart meshes for imageless ECGI were quantified. The results show that imageless ECGI can provide robust estimation of cardiac electrophysiological parameters, even during complex arrhythmias. This study is important for the widespread use of ECGI in clinical practice.
JOURNAL OF ELECTROCARDIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Mathematics
Ixeia Sanchez-Periz, Isabel Barrachina-Martinez, Javier Diaz-Carnicero, Andreu M. M. Climent, David Vivas-Consuelo
Summary: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common, yet the treatment strategies are inefficient. We developed a cost-effectiveness model to evaluate improvements in cardiac ablations. Increasing the effectiveness and treating more patients are crucial for better outcomes.