In ventricular fibrillation, the muscle cells of the heart’s two large, lower chambers (the ventricles) lose their synchronization; instead of coordinated pumping action, the cells twitch chaotically. Without immediate medical attention, the condition leads to sudden death. Fibrillation has been connected to the formation of vortex-like spiral waves of electrical activity (see the Quick Study by Andrea Welsh, Edwin Greco, and Flavio Fenton, Physics Today, February 2017, page 78, and the articles by Leon Glass, Physics Today, August 1996, page 40, and by Alain Karma and Robert Gilmour, March 2007, page 51). Within the heart muscle, spiral waves extend into a three-dimensional analogue called scroll waves and rotate around a filament-like core. But the filaments need not be straight: They can bend, twist, and tangle. Until now, however, the filaments could not be visualized, only simulated. Using high-speed, 4D ultrasound, Jan Christoph of the Max...
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
June 2018
June 01 2018
Imaging vortex filaments during cardiac fibrillation
Physics Today 71 (6), 25 (2018);
Citation
Richard J. Fitzgerald; Imaging vortex filaments during cardiac fibrillation. Physics Today 1 June 2018; 71 (6): 25. https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.3944
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionPERSONAL SUBSCRIPTION
Purchase an annual subscription for $25. A subscription grants you access to all of Physics Today's current and backfile content.
250
Views
Citing articles via
Bats thrive in cluttered spaces
Kate Allen
Frictional flow patterns
Alex Lopatka
James Burkett Hartle
Thomas Hertog