Numerical Simulations of Cardiac Tissue Excitation and Pacing Using the Bidomain Model

Abstract

The last two decades have produced significant advances in our theoretical understanding of cardiac pacing. The bidomain model, a mathematical representation of the anisotropic electrical properties of cardiac tissue, has provided insight into many long-standing mysteries of pacing, such as the mechanisms of make and break excitation, the shape of the strength-interval curve, and the induction of reentry by burst pacing. This paper reviews the application of the bidomain model to these and other topics, and summarizes our theoretical understanding of how electrical excitation of the heart works.