Polarized electric field-induced drift of spiral waves in discontinuous cardiac media

Abstract

The clinical application of high-voltage defibrillation to eliminate spiral waves in the cardiac possesses profound adverse effects. There is a demand for alternative approaches with lower intensity, such as utilizing low-intensity electric fields to induce the drift of spiral waves. Phase singularity (PS) denotes the tip of spiral wave. Under the influence of the electric fields, PS can drift towards non-excited boundaries for the purpose of eliminating spiral waves. Unlike previous investigations, here we consider discontinuities in myocardial tissue caused by cellular structures, where the myocardial tissue consists of interlaced rod-shaped cells. We apply different electric fields to the spiral waves in this discontinuous myocardial tissue and found following conclusions: (1) The constant electric field possesses the capacity to induce the drift of the PS in the direction that is anti-parallell to the electric field. (2) The polarized electric field of specific intensity and angular frequency can induce the linear drift of PS. (3) Interestingly, the drift of the spiral wave in a predictable direction can be controlled by varying the phase difference of the polarized electric field as well as the initial phase of the spiral wave. We discuss the effect of electric fields on spiral waves in discontinuous myocardial media through numerical simulations. Our study may provide some insight into the practical application of low-energy elimination of spiral waves in the cardiac.