title: Assessment of spatial organization in the atria during paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and adrenergic stimulation.
abstract: Non-linear parameters were computed to assess the extent of spatial organization in the atria in terms of coupling/synchronization between electrograms recorded in different atrial sites. Recordings of 9 patients suffering from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation were tested during four clinical experimental conditions: sinus rhythm and atrial fibrillation, both before and after isoproterenol infusion, a drug mimicking adrenergic activation. Two non-linear metrics were investigated: an index of non-linear association (NLA) and a synchronization (S) index based on the cross-conditional entropy. Results evidence the presence of reduced coupling after drug infusion in both sinus rhythm and atrial fibrillation. Moreover, passing from the NLA to the S index, the capability of the parameter to capture the subtle changes due to isoproterenol administration increased.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy. valentina.corino@polimi.it
authors.forename: Valentina D A
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Corino
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mantica
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lombardi
authors.forename: Luca T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Mainardi
mesh_terms: D000318:Adrenergic beta-Agonists / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000465:Algorithms; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D004360:Drug Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007545:Isoproterenol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular
chemical_list: D000318:Adrenergic beta-Agonists; D007545:Isoproterenol