SKM 2021 – scientific programme

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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 13: Focus session: Nonlinear Dynamics of the Heart II (organized by Markus Bär, Stefan Luther and Ulrich Parlitz)

DY 13.7: Invited Talk

Thursday, September 30, 2021, 15:45–16:15, H2

Dynamics of paroxysmal tachycardias — •Gil Bub — McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Reentrant cardiac arrhythmias can start and stop spontaneously, giving rise to paroxysmal bursting rhythms. Experiments and simulations suggest that the dynamics of these paroxysmal reentrant waves may be natural consequences of structural heterogeneity, action potential restitution, and tissue fatigue. Recent experimental studies show that reentrant wave termination is linked to alternans, the beat-to-beat variation in action potential duration and velocity. The impact of alternans on termination was also confirmed using simulations that include restitution curve dynamics. Initiation of these waves, however, is less well understood. Current challenges include the development of imaging technologies that can observe rare spontaneous initiation events in multiple samples to gain mechanistic insights.