Vortex ring behavior provides the epigenetic blueprint for the human heart.

ABSTRACT: The laws of fluid dynamics govern vortex ring formation and precede cardiac development by billions of years, suggesting that diastolic vortex ring formation is instrumental in defining the shape of the heart. Using novel and validated magnetic resonance imaging measurements, we show that the healthy left ventricle moves in tandem with the expanding vortex ring, indicating that cardiac form and function is epigenetically optimized to accommodate vortex ring formation for volume pumping. Healthy hearts demonstrate a strong coupling between vortex and cardiac volumes (R(2) = 0.83), but this optimized phenotype is lost in heart failure, suggesting restoration of normal vortex ring dynamics as a new, and possibly important consideration for individualized heart failure treatment. Vortex ring v

SUBMITTER: Arvidsson PM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4768103 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature