Arrhythmogenic Potential of Myocardial Edema: The Interstitial Osmolality Induces Spiral Waves and Multiple Excitation Wavelets.

Myocardial edema is a common symptom of pathological processes in the heart, causing aggravation of cardiovascular diseases and leading to irreversible myocardial remodeling. Patient-based studies show that myocardial edema is associated with arrhythmias. Currently, there are no studies that have examined how edema may influence changes in calcium dynamics in the functional syncytium.

Human sodium current voltage-dependence at physiological temperature measured by coupling a patch-clamp experiment to a mathematical model.

Voltage-gated Na channels are crucial to action potential propagation in excitable tissues. Because of the high amplitude and rapid activation of the Na current, voltage-clamp measurements are very challenging and are usually performed at room temperature. In this study, we measured Na current voltage-dependence in stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes at physiological temperature.

Biomimetic Cardiac Tissue Models for In Vitro Arrhythmia Studies.

Cardiac arrhythmias are a major cause of cardiovascular mortality worldwide. Many arrhythmias are caused by reentry, a phenomenon where excitation waves circulate in the heart. Optical mapping techniques have revealed the role of reentry in arrhythmia initiation and fibrillation transition, but the underlying biophysical mechanisms are still difficult to investigate in intact hearts.

Novel Molecular Vehicle-Based Approach for Cardiac Cell Transplantation Leads to Rapid Electromechanical Graft-Host Coupling.

Myocardial remodeling is an inevitable risk factor for cardiac arrhythmias and can potentially be corrected with cell therapy. Although the generation of cardiac cells ex vivo is possible, specific approaches to cell replacement therapy remain unclear. On the one hand, adhesive myocyte cells must be viable and conjugated with the electromechanical syncytium of the recipient tissue, which is unattainable without an external scaffold substrate.