A mathematical model for the vulnerable phase in myocardium (Q1106757)

We present a model of excitable media with the feature that it has a vulnerable phase during which a premature current stimulus will result in the formation of a reentrant self-sustained wave of excitation. The model exploits anisotropic coupling of identical cells, and is therefore useful as a model for the myocardium. We discuss why there is a vulnerable phase and how to determine it quantitatively in models of excitable media, and we demonstrate numerically that permanently rotating waves are formed when a stimulus is applied during this vulnerable phase. Finally, it is shown that the direction of fastest propagation in myocardium is not necessarily the direction of highest safety factor, contrary to commonly accepted opinion. As a result, a reentrant wave is formed after a stimulus is blocked in the axial direction and successfully propagates away from the stimulus site in the lateral direction.