Reentry and Ectopic Pacemakers Emerge in a Three-Dimensional Model for a Slab of Cardiac Tissue with Diffuse Microfibrosis near the Percolation Threshold.

ABSTRACT: Arrhythmias in cardiac tissue are generally associated with irregular electrical wave propagation in the heart. Cardiac tissue is formed by a discrete cell network, which is often heterogeneous. Recently, it was shown in simulations of two-dimensional (2D) discrete models of cardiac tissue that a wave crossing a fibrotic, heterogeneous region may produce reentry and transient or persistent ectopic activity provided the fraction of conducting connections is just above the percolation threshold. Here, we investigate the occurrence of these phenomena in three-dimensions by simulations of a discrete model representing a thin slab of cardiac tissue. This is motivated (i) by the necessity to study the relevance and properties of the percolation-related mechanism for the emergence of microreentri

SUBMITTER: Alonso S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5119821 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature