Application of non-linear dynamics to the characterization of cardiac electrical instability.
Beat-to-beat alternation in the morphology of the ECG has been previously observed in hearts susceptible to fibrillation.  In addition, fibrillation has been characterized by some as a chaotic state. Period doubling phenomena, such as alternation, and the onset of chaos have been connected by non-linear dynamical systems theory.  In this paper, we describe the use of a technique from nonlinear dynamics theory, the construction of a first return nap, to assess the susceptibility to fibrillation threshhold in canine experiments.
Kaplan
D T
DT
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Cohen
R J
RJ
D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D008433:Mathematics; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology*