Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 11 November 1994:
Vol. 266. no. 5187, pp. 1003 - 1006
DOI: 10.1126/science.7973648
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Science, Vol 266, Issue 5187, 1003-1006
Copyright © 1994 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Electrical turbulence in three-dimensional heart muscle

AT Winfree

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721.

Rotors or vortex action potentials with a diameter of about 1 centimeter and a rotation period of about 0.1 second occur in normal myocardium just before transition to fibrillation, a disorderly pattern of action potential propagation. Numerical models and corresponding mathematical analysis have recently suggested candidate mechanisms, all two-dimensional, for this transition from periodic electrical activity to something resembling turbulence. However, comparably recent experiments unanimously show that rotors, and the spiral waves they radiate, remain stably periodic in two-dimensional myocardium. This seeming paradox suggests a transition mediated through disorderly dynamics of the electrical vortex in three dimensions, as a "vortex filament."


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
The use of mice and rats as animal models for cardiopulmonary resuscitation research.
D Papadimitriou, T Xanthos, I Dontas, P Lelovas, and D Perrea (2008)
Lab Anim 42, 265-276
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Universal scaling law of electrical turbulence in the mammalian heart.
S. F. Noujaim, O. Berenfeld, J. Kalifa, M. Cerrone, K. Nanthakumar, F. Atienza, J. Moreno, S. Mironov, and J. Jalife (2007)
PNAS 104, 20985-20989
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Influence of diffuse fibrosis on wave propagation in human ventricular tissue.
K. H.W.J. Ten Tusscher and A. V. Panfilov (2007)
Europace 9, vi38-vi45
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Cardiac beat-to-beat alternations driven by unusual spiral waves.
T. Y. Kim, S.-J. Woo, S.-m. Hwang, J. H. Hong, and K. J. Lee (2007)
PNAS 104, 11639-11642
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Mechanisms of destabilization and early termination of spiral wave reentry in the ventricle by a class III antiarrhythmic agent, nifekalant.
M. Yamazaki, H. Honjo, H. Nakagawa, Y. S. Ishiguro, Y. Okuno, M. Amino, I. Sakuma, K. Kamiya, and I. Kodama (2007)
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 292, H539-H548
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
From the Cover: Modular chemical mechanism predicts spatiotemporal dynamics of initiation in the complex network of hemostasis.
C. J. Kastrup, M. K. Runyon, F. Shen, and R. F. Ismagilov (2006)
PNAS 103, 15747-15752
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Predicting complex biology with simple chemistry.
I. R. Epstein (2006)
PNAS 103, 15727-15728
   Full Text »    PDF »
From The Cover: Complex-periodic spiral waves in confluent cardiac cell cultures induced by localized inhomogeneities.
S.-m. Hwang, T. Y. Kim, and K. J. Lee (2005)
PNAS 102, 10363-10368
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Runaway Pacemakers in Ventricular Fibrillation.
P.-S. Chen and J. N. Weiss (2005)
Circulation 112, 148-150
   Full Text »    PDF »
Termination of spiral waves during cardiac fibrillation via shock-induced phase resetting.
R. A. Gray and N. Chattipakorn (2005)
PNAS 102, 4672-4677
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Is there a correlation between ventricular fibrillation cycle length and electrophysiological and anatomic properties of the canine left ventricle?.
T. Taneja, G. Horvath, D. K. Racker, D. Johnson, J. Goldberger, and A. Kadish (2004)
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 287, H823-H832
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Increased Vulnerability to Atrial Fibrillation in Transgenic Mice With Selective Atrial Fibrosis Caused by Overexpression of TGF-{beta}1.
S. Verheule, T. Sato, T. Everett IV, S. K. Engle, D. Otten, M. Rubart-von der Lohe, H. O. Nakajima, H. Nakajima, L. J. Field, and J. E. Olgin (2004)
Circ. Res. 94, 1458-1465
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Acute ischemia-induced gap junctional uncoupling and arrhythmogenesis.
J. R de Groot and R. Coronel (2004)
Cardiovasc Res 62, 323-334
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Basic Mechanisms of Cardiac Impulse Propagation and Associated Arrhythmias.
A. G. KLEBER and Y. RUDY (2004)
Physiol Rev 84, 431-488
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
From the Cover: Segmented spiral waves in a reaction-diffusion system.
V. K. Vanag and I. R. Epstein (2003)
PNAS 100, 14635-14638
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Functional reentry in cultured monolayers of neonatal rat cardiac cells.
S. Iravanian, Y. Nabutovsky, C.-R. Kong, S. Saha, N. Bursac, and L. Tung (2003)
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 285, H449-H456
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Taming Winfree Turbulence of Scroll Waves in Excitable Media.
S. Alonso, F. Sagues, and A. S. Mikhailov (2003)
Science 299, 1722-1725
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Reentry in heterogeneous cardiac tissue described by the Luo-Rudy ventricular action potential model.
K. H. W. J. Ten Tusscher and A. V. Panfilov (2003)
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 284, H542-H548
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the mouse.
L. Song, M. H. Weil, W. Tang, S. Sun, and T. Pellis (2002)
J Appl Physiol 93, 1222-1226
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Minimal principle for rotor filaments.
M. Wellner, O. Berenfeld, J. Jalife, and A. M. Pertsov (2002)
PNAS 99, 8015-8018
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Recent Fibrillation Studies: Attempts to Wrest Order From Disorder.
R. E. Ideker, J. Huang, V. Fast, and W. M. Smith (2001)
Circ. Res. 89, 1089-1091
   Full Text »    PDF »
Inwardly Rotating Spiral Waves in a Reaction-Diffusion System.
V. K. Vanag and I. R. Epstein (2001)
Science 294, 835-837
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Induction of atrial tachycardia and fibrillation in the mouse heart.
H. Wakimoto, C. T Maguire, P. Kovoor, P. E Hammer, J. Gehrmann, J. K Triedman, and C. I Berul (2001)
Cardiovasc Res 50, 463-473
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Electrophysiological heterogeneity and stability of reentry in simulated cardiac tissue.
F. Xie, Z. Qu, A. Garfinkel, and J. N. Weiss (2001)
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 280, H535-H545
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Effects of [K+]o on electrical restitution and activation dynamics during ventricular fibrillation.
M. L. Koller, M. L. Riccio, and R. F. Gilmour Jr (2000)
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 279, H2665-H2672
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Endocardial activation during ventricular fibrillation in normal and failing canine hearts.
G. L. Pierpont, S. S. Chugh, J. A. Hauck, and C. C. Gornick (2000)
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 279, H1737-H1747
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Inducible polymorphic ventricular tachyarrhythmias in a transgenic mouse model with a long Q-T phenotype.
A. Jeron, G. F. Mitchell, J. Zhou, M. Murata, B. London, P. Buckett, S. D. Wiviott, and G. Koren (2000)
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 278, H1891-H1898
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
New paradigm for drug therapies of cardiac fibrillation.
A. Karma (2000)
PNAS 97, 5687-5689
   Full Text »    PDF »
Enhanced Dispersion of Repolarization and Refractoriness in Transgenic Mouse Hearts Promotes Reentrant Ventricular Tachycardia.
L. C. Baker, B. London, B.-R. Choi, G. Koren, and G. Salama (2000)
Circ. Res. 86, 396-407
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Distribution of Excitation Frequencies on the Epicardial and Endocardial Surfaces of Fibrillating Ventricular Wall of the Sheep Heart.
A. V. Zaitsev, O. Berenfeld, S. F. Mironov, J. Jalife, and A. M. Pertsov (2000)
Circ. Res. 86, 408-417
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Reentry and Fibrillation in the Mouse Heart : A Challenge to the Critical Mass Hypothesis.
D. Vaidya, G. E. Morley, F. H. Samie, and J. Jalife (1999)
Circ. Res. 85, 174-181
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Chaos and the Transition to Ventricular Fibrillation : A New Approach to Antiarrhythmic Drug Evaluation.
J. N. Weiss, A. Garfinkel, H. S. Karagueuzian, Z. Qu, and P.-S. Chen (1999)
Circulation 99, 2819-2826
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Incidence, Evolution, and Spatial Distribution of Functional Reentry During Ventricular Fibrillation in Pigs.
J. M. Rogers, J. Huang, W. M. Smith, and R. E. Ideker (1999)
Circ. Res. 84, 945-954
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Electrical Restitution and Spatiotemporal Organization During Ventricular Fibrillation.
M. L. Riccio, M. L. Koller, and R. F. Gilmour Jr (1999)
Circ. Res. 84, 955-963
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Purkinje-Muscle Reentry as a Mechanism of Polymorphic Ventricular Arrhythmias in a 3-Dimensional Model of the Ventricles.
O. Berenfeld and J. Jalife (1998)
Circ. Res. 82, 1063-1077
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Mechanisms of Cardiac Fibrillation.
R. A. Gray, J. Jalife, A. V. Panfilov, W. T. Baxter, C. Cabo, J. M. Davidenko, A. M. Pertsov;, P. Hogeweg;, and A. T. Winfree (1995)
Science 270, 1222
   Abstract »    PDF »
Nonlinear-dynamical arrhythmia control in humans.
D. J. Christini, K. M. Stein, S. M. Markowitz, S. Mittal, D. J. Slotwiner, M. A. Scheiner, S. Iwai, and B. B. Lerman (2001)
PNAS 98, 5827-5832
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)