Direct observation of a stable spiral wave reentry in ventricles of a whole human heart using optical mapping for voltage and calcium.

Abstract

From the studies of Gordon Moe in the 1960s, functional reentry has been investigated as a mechanism for tachycardia and fibrillation; however, it was not until 1990 that optical mapping (OM) experiments using sheep hearts verified the existence of reentrant spiral waves.1 Eventually, it was shown that electromechanical 3-dimensional vortex filaments drive cardiac fibrillation.2 To date, only multiple complex and short-lived reentrant waves have been recorded using OM on human ventricles.3 The presence of single spiral waves in human ventricles has only been demonstrated using low-resolution intracardiac electrocardiograms (ECGs).