Reentry based on the development of early afterdepolarizations in aPurkinje-ventricular muscle ring model

摘要

Early afterdepolarizations (EADs) are irregularities that appearin the action potential (AP) of cells before repolarization is completeand that have been implicated in the genesis of certain cardiacarrhythmias, probably in combination with reentry. The purpose of thiswork was to study the establishment of reentry based on EAD generationand propagation in a ring computer model where Purkinje fibers, underconditions that favor the development of EADs (EAD conditions), connectto ventricular muscle cells, under normal conditions. Our results showthat there exist critical EAD conditions under which stimulated APs arefollowed by two ectopic APs (couplets). This phenomenon is based on thedevelopment of triggered activity in Purkinje cells and the subsequentestablishment of reentry, and supports the hypothesis suggested bydifferent experimental studies, which propose a similar mechanism toexplain the generation of certain cardiac arrhythmias such as torsade depointes