Effect of the form and anisotropy of the left ventricle on the drift of spiral waves

Abstract

Three-dimensional spiral waves of electrical excitation in the myocardium are sources of dangerous cardiac arrhythmias. In this work, the dynamics of spiral waves of electrical excitation were studied in a symmetric anatomical model of the human heart left ventricle and a realistic ionic cell model of the human ventricular myocardium. Three factors that affect the drift waves in the heart were compared for the first time: the geometry of the heart wall, myocardial anisotropy, and wave chirality. Cardiac anisotropy was identified as a main factor in determining the drift of spiral waves. In the isotropic case, the dynamics were determined by the wall thickness, but did not depend on the wave chirality. In the anisotropic case, chirality was found to play a crucial role.