title: The ischemic heart: what causes ectopic beating?
abstract: The mechanisms by which spontaneous electrical activity originates in the ischemic heart and leads to arrhythmia remain unknown, however mechanical stretch of the diseased region has been hypothesized to play a role. The goal of this study is to investigate the conditions that favor the initiation of stretch-induced premature beats in the ischemic heart. We employ a mathematical model of the ischemic cell subjected to stretch. The study found that upon stretch, spontaneous beats occur in the ischemic cell, which are due to the stretch-induced re-activation of the L-type calcium current.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jie
authors.forename: Blanca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Trayanova