In this numerical study, we investigate the role of intrinsic heterogeneities of cardiac tissue due to M cells in the generation and maintenance of reentrant excitations using the detailed Luo-Rudy dynamic model. This model has been extended to include a description of the long QT 3 syndrome, and is studied in both one dimension, corresponding to a cable traversing the ventricular wall, and two dimensions, representing a transmural slice. We focus on two possible mechanisms for the generation of reentrant events. We first investigate if early-after-depolarizations occurring in M cells can initiate reentry. We find that, even for large values of the long QT strength, the electrotonic coupling between neighboring cells prevents earlyafter-depolarizations from creating a reentry. We then study whether M cell domains, with their slow repolarization, can function as wave blocks for premature stimuli. We find that the inclusion of an M cell domain can result in some cases in reentrant excitations and we determine the lifetime of the reentry as a function of the size and geometry of the domain and of the strength of the long QT syndrome.
1Spatial heterogeneity of cardiac tissue causes cells to repolarize at different rates, leading to a dispersion of repolarization time. Dispersion of repolarization has been postulated to function as a substrate for reentry phenomena which occur when the propagation of the electric wave is blocked in one direction causing the wave front to curl and reenter the previously excited tissue. The ensuing incoherent electrical activity of the heart is thought to subsequently lead to ventricular fibrillation, the leading cause of sudden death in the industrialized world. In this numerical study, we investigate the role of intrinsic heterogeneities due to M cells in the generation and maintenance of reentrant excitations. These cells, located in the midmyocardium, exhibit a prolonged action potential duration and the resulting dispersion of repolarization is exacerbated in patients with the long QT syndrome. Using a detailed electrophysiological model, two previously postulated mechanisms are investigated: one in which the M cells create premature stimuli that lead to reentrant events and one in which the M cell domains function as wave blocks for electrically propagating waves originating, as usually, from the endocardium. We find that the first mechanism is unlikely to happen under the conditions we study, due to the strong electrotonic coupling that is normally present between neighboring cells. The second mechanism, on the other hand, can result in reentrant excitations. We determine the lifetime of the reentry as a function of the size and geometry of the domain, and of the strength of the long QT syndrome.