Singular Value Decomposition of Optically-Mapped Cardiac Rotors and Fibrillatory Activity.

Our progress of understanding how cellular and structural factors contribute to the arrhythmia is hampered in part because of controversies whether a fibrillating heart is driven by a single, several, or multiple number of sources, and whether they are focal or reentrant, and how to localize them. Here we demonstrate how a novel usage of the neutral singular value decomposition (SVD) method enables the extraction of the governing spatial and temporal modes of excitation from a rotor and fibrillatory waves. Those modes highlight patterns and regions of organization in the midst of the otherwise seemingly-randomly propagating excitation waves. We apply the method to experimental models of cardiac fibrillation in rabbit hearts. We show that the SVD analysis is able to enhance the classification of the heart electrical patterns into regions harboring drivers in the form of fast reentrant activity and other regions of by-standing activity. This enhancement is accomplished without any prior assumptions regarding the spatial, temporal or spectral properties of those drivers. The analysis corroborates that the dominant mode has the highest activation rate and further reveals a new feature: A transfer of modes from the driving to the passive regions resulting in a partial reaction of the passive region to the driving region.

Estimation of Stature from Arm Span in Medical Students of Maharashtra, India.

BACKGROUND: Stature can be estimated from body parameters in dead and mutilated bodies using regression equation or multiplication factor. However, regression equations and multiplication factors are specific for the region only and can't be used in all population. AIM: To formulate regression equation and multiplication factor for the estimation of stature from arm span (AS) for a region in Maharashtra, India. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: It was a cross-sectional study, did over a period of 2 years, from October 2011 to September 2013. Four hundred students of three Government medical colleges of Maharashtra, aged 18-24 years were enrolled in the study. Stature and AS were measured and subjected to statistical analysis. Unpaired t-test and simple linear regression were used. RESULTS: Stature and AS of 400 medical students (219 males and 181 females) were measured. Subjects were divided into six groups depending upon age. Simple regression equation and multiplication factor for male and female and for each age group were derived for estimation of stature. We found correlation coefficient (R) of 0.89 in male and 0.90 in female using simple regression, which shows strong correlation between stature and AS. CONCLUSION: Mean stature and AS of male were more than female with statistical significance. Stature can be accurately estimated from AS using simple regression equation or multiplication factor.

Ventricular remodelling in rabbits with sustained high-fat diet.

AIM: Excess weight gain and obesity are one of the most serious health problems in the western societies. These conditions enhance risk of cardiac disease and have been linked with increased prevalence for cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death. Our goal was to study the ventricular remodelling occurring in rabbits fed with high-fat diet (HFD) and its potential arrhythmogenic mechanisms. METHODS: We used 15 NZW rabbits that were randomly assigned to a control (n = 7) or HFD group (n = 8) for 18 weeks. In vivo studies included blood glucose, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic measurements. Optical mapping was performed in Langendorff-perfused isolated hearts. RESULTS: Body weight (3.69 ± 0.31 vs. 2.94 ± 0.18 kg, P < 0.001) and blood glucose levels (230 ± 61 vs. 141 ± 14 mg dL(-1) , P < 0.05) were higher in the HFD group vs. controls. The rate-corrected QT interval and its dispersion were increased in HFD rabbits vs. controls (169 ± 10 vs. 146 ± 13 ms and 37 ± 11 vs. 9 ± 2 ms, respectively; P < 0.05). Echocardiographic analysis showed morphological and functional alterations in HFD rabbits indicative of left ventricle (LV) hypertrophy. Isolated heart studies revealed no changes in repolarization and propagation properties under conditions of normal extracellular K(+) , suggesting that extrinsic factors could underlie those electrocardiographic modifications. There were no differences in the dynamics of ventricular fibrillation (frequency, wave breaks) in the presence of isoproterenol. However, HFD rabbits showed a small reduction in action potential duration and an increased incidence of arrhythmias during hyperkalaemia. CONCLUSION: High-fat feeding during 18 weeks in rabbits induced a type II diabetes phenotype, LV hypertrophy, abnormalities in repolarization and susceptibility to arrhythmias during hyperkalaemia.

A mathematical model of action potential heterogeneity in adult rat left ventricular myocytes.

Mathematical models were developed to reconstruct the action potentials (AP) recorded in epicardial and endocardial myocytes isolated from the adult rat left ventricle. The main goal was to obtain additional insight into the ionic mechanisms responsible for the transmural AP heterogeneity. The simulation results support the hypothesis that the smaller density and the slower reactivation kinetics of the Ca(2+)-independent transient outward K(+) current (I(t)) in the endocardial myocytes can account for the longer action potential duration (APD), and more prominent rate dependence in that cell type. The larger density of the Na(+) current (I(Na)) in the endocardial myocytes results in a faster upstroke (dV/dt(max)). This, in addition to the smaller magnitude of I(t), is responsible for the larger peak overshoot of the simulated endocardial AP. The prolonged APD in the endocardial cell also leads to an enhanced amplitude of the sustained K(+) current (I(ss)), and a larger influx of Ca(2+) ions via the L-type Ca(2+) current (I(CaL)). The latter results in an increased sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) load, which is mainly responsible for the higher peak systolic value of the Ca(2+) transient [Ca(2+)](i), and the resultant increase in the Na(+)-Ca(2+) exchanger (I(NaCa)) activity, associated with the simulated endocardial AP. In combination, these calculations provide novel, quantitative insights into the repolarization process and its naturally occurring transmural variations in the rat left ventricle.