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Biomedical subjects

A M Pertsov

Publications and source records attributed to A M Pertsov.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Spatiotemporal irregularities of spiral wave activity in isolated ventricular muscle.

Voltage-sensitive dyes and high resolution optical mapping were used to analyze the characteristics of spiral waves of excitation in isolated ventricular myocardium. In addition, analytical techniques, which have been previously used in the study of the characteristics of spiral waves in chemical reactions, were applied to determine the voltage structure of the center of the rotating activity (ie, the core). During stable spiral wave activity local activation occurs in a periodic fashion (ie, 1:1 stimulus: response activation ratio) throughout the preparation, except at the core, which is a small elongated area where the activity is of low voltage and the activation ratio is 1:0. The voltage amplitude increases gradually from the center of the core to the periphery. In some cases, however, regular activation patterns at the periphery may coexist with irregular local activation patterns near the core. Such a spatiotemporal irregularity is attended by variations in the core size and shape and results from changes in the core position. The authors conclude that functionally determined reentrant activity in the heart may be the result of spiral waves of propagation and that local spatiotemporal irregularities in the activation pattern are the result of changes in the core position.

Animals

Vagally induced depression of impulse propagation as a cause of atrial tachycardia.

It is known that parasympathetic influence favors induction of re-entrant atrial tachycardias (ATs). This effect is usually interpreted as a result of inhomogeneous shortening of atrial refractoriness leading to increased probability of circus movement following a premature impulse. However, early microelectrode studies showed that in spontaneously beating isolated frog atria, intensive vagal stimulation (VS) induced paroxysms of rapid AT in the absence of myocardial extrastimulation. This AT was found to correlate with inexcitability of some of the impaled fibers of the atria. It was supposed that temporary, vagally induced, inexcitable areas of the atria could lead to re-entry, serving as a site of unidirectional conduction. This hypothesis was recently evaluated by direct multielectrode mapping of excitation sequence during vagally induced AT in frog atria. Recording from 32 sites with a spatial resolution of 1-2 mm clearly showed that the AT was due to re-entry. The ATs were always preceded by vagally induced depression of conduction, with some areas of the atria being completely blocked. As the vagal influence decreased, the blocked areas recovered in an inhomogeneous manner. The re-entrant AT was initiated when a sinus impulse arrived during a certain phase of the recovery. Unlike the well-known mechanism of re-entry, which is based on inhomogeneous refractoriness and extrabeat(s), the re-entrant AT in our model depended on vagally induced conduction block and could be launched by a single sinus impulse.

Animals

[Isolated right ventricle after coronary perfusion as a model for the study of ischemic and reperfusion-induced arrhythmia in rats].

A catheter through which perfusion was performed with oxygenated saline (2.1 ml/min) was introduced into the right coronary artery ostium of the rat right ventricle that had been isolated during cardioplegia. Super perfusion (12 ml/min) was simultaneously made. Termination of the perfusion caused arrhythmias at minutes 6 to 28 of ischemia. The highest likelihood of occurrence of such arrhythmias was observed on minutes 16-20 (premature beats being seen in 86% of the experiments, extrastimulus-induced tachycardias in 75%, spontaneous tachycardias in 25%). Reperfusion was made at 3, 5, 7, 10, 13, 15, 20, 30 and 60 min following ischemia (n = 7 in each case). The occurrence of reperfusion arrhythmias is likely to be related to the duration of ischemia with the highest likelihood of 20 minutes after ischemia (tachycardia and fibrillation were observed in 100 and 71%, respectively).

Animals

[Effects of lidocaine on intramural circulation in isolated rabbit heart ventricle preparations].

Mapping was used on isolated rabbit ventricular specimens to study effects of lidocaine, 2-8 mg/l, on persistent intramural reentry involving the areas of slow transmural conduction. The agent was shown to produce antiarrhythmic and arrhythmogenic effects at the same time. Lidocaine reduced the duration of an arrhythmia, but provoked its initiation. Both these effects of lidocaine were attributable to its action on the refractory period of a slow transmural conduction area.

Animals

Vagally induced block and delayed conduction as a mechanism for circus movement tachycardia in frog atria.

Episodes of tachycardia induced by strong vagal stimulation in spontaneously beating isolated atria of frog (Rana temporaria) were studied with multielectrode mapping technique. These episodes were inducible in 19 of 39 preparations. The arrhythmia started several seconds after cessation of vagal stimulation strong enough to cause sinus arrest, without electrical stimulation of the myocardium. The arrhythmia consisted of two to 20 beats (6 +/- 4, mean +/- SD, n = 42) with a cycle length of 100-500 msec. Recording from 32 sites with spatial resolution of 1-2 mm showed that the arrhythmia was due to intra-atrial circus movement. The estimated perimeter of the reentrant circuit ranged from 6 to 20 mm. In circuits of the minimal size, the average conduction velocity along the circuit was as low as 2-3 cm/sec. Paroxysms of the tachycardia were always preceded by vagally induced nonuniform depression of conduction, with some areas of atria being completely blocked. As the vagal influence decreased, the blocked areas recovered in an inhomogeneous manner, their unblocking being significantly (p less than 0.05) delayed after inhibition of tissue cholinesterase by proserine. The reentrant tachycardia was initiated when a sinus impulse arrived during certain phase of the unblocking. Unlike the well-known mechanism of reentrant excitation, which is based on inhomogeneous refractoriness and critically timed extrabeat(s), the circus movement in our model depended on vagally induced conduction block and could be launched by a single sinus impulse.

Animals

[Study of excitation circulation around an unexcitable myocardial obstacle].

An experimental model of tachy-arrhythmias due to myocardial excitation wave circulation round an unexcitable obstruction was explored. Artificial openings of various sizes and shapes in an isolated rabbit left atrium posed as obstacles. Acetylcholine, having a potent effect on the refractory period of atrial cells, was used to alter refractory characteristics. It has been demonstrated that differences in the sensitivity to the action of pharmacologic agents on both re-entry types can actually be absent. Acetylcholine is shown to shorten the period of circulation round the hole, i.e. act on such circulation in the same fashion as it does on the leading cycle, in a wide range of hole diameters, approaching the ones comparable with the size of the atrium. Sensitivity to acetylcholine only disappears when a labyrinth is set up with artificially prolonged circulation pathway. The action of acetylcholine can be attributed to the absence of tissue with fully recovered excitability between the anterior and posterior fronts of the wave circulating round the obstacle.

Acetylcholine

[Study of spontaneous acetylcholine-dependent tachyarrhythmias using isolated specimens of the right canine atrium by bilateral mapping of the spread of excitation].

The authors examined tachycardias induced by administering acetylcholine (AC), 1-2 micrograms into the artery of sinus node (ASN) of an isolated specimen of the canine right atrium, which had spontaneous automatism. Bilateral multielectrode mapping was employed. The episodes of tachycardia occurred during AC-induced arrest of sinus rhythm. In 81% of the cases, episodes of arrhythmia consisted of 2-3 beats, in 19%, 6-150 beats. The mapping revealed a focal picture of activation during short-term episodes of arrhythmia and transition from a focal type of activation to the re-entry in most cases of "prolonged" episodes. With this, excitation circulation might be detected only on one side of the specimen, in the presence of the focal activation picture, on the other. Focus-re-entry transition is proposed to be caused by a mechanism associated with heterogeneous refractoriness of atrial tissue.

Acetylcholine

[The mechanism of the development of atrial tachyarrhythmia after stimulation of the vagus nerve].

Multielectrode mapping of stimulus propagation was used to investigate arrhythmias, developing in atrial preparations of frogs after vagal stimulation. Vagal stimulation produced attacks of tachycardia (one to several dozens extra-excitations) in 10 of 16 specimens. In such cases, mapping demonstrated re-entry of the excitation wave that appeared where the front of the next excitation wave from the sinus went along the border of temporarily-unexcitable area during the recovery of excitability in vagus-inhibited atrial areas. The emergence of re-entry was possible, because the excitation wave length (lambda), was shortened owing to reduced refraction and speed of conduction under vagal effect. After myocardial tissue got rid of vagal influence, lambda increased, after which re-entry was no longer possible, and arrhythmia discontinued.

Animals

[3-dimensional reentry in paroxysmal ventricular tachycardias: the results of electrophysiological mapping].

The mechanism of sustained ventricular tachycardias with a focal type of activation initiated by an extrastimulus was studied in isolated rabbit heart ventricle preparations by endocardial and epicardial mapping. Sixty-four electrograms were simultaneously recorded using unipolar electrodes (32 on each side of the preparation). The electrodes were spaced 3 mm apart. Data recording and processing were computerized. Sustained (greater than 0.5 min) tachycardias of a focal type were registered in 6 of 17 experiments. In each case, the three-dimensional macro-reentry mechanisms was involved. The closed circuit was around the intramural ischemic zone resulting from impairment of coronary circulation. Endocardial and epicardial points of early activation occurred at the sites where the wave passed from one surface to another.

Animals

[Cold-induced arrhythmias in the isolated rabbit atrium studied by mapping].

Arrhythmias developing in isolated rabbit atria following the cooling of the perfusion solution were studied by multielectrode mapping. In 10 out of the 12 initially invulnerable preparations, the cooling to 27 +/- +/- 0.7'C induced arrhythmias. The effect was reversible, disappearing with the temperature normalization. Mapping showed that in 60% of the cases the arrhythmias were caused by the emergence of the leading cycles (functionally determined re-entry). In 40% of the cases, the re-entry was not demonstrable by mapping. However, arrhythmias in these experiments developed at the same temperature and had the same period as the leading cycles. The appearance of arrhythmias was closely correlated with a decrease in the wave length which strongly suggests the re-entry mechanism of hypothermic arrhythmias.

Animals

[Electric coupling in cells without highly permeable cell contacts].

A mathematical model of two contacting cells is studied. Simple analytical formula are obtained which connect the transmission coefficient k with the parameters of contact zone (dimension of the contact region, resistence of the contact membrane, specific resistence of the interslit medium, width of intercellular slit) and with geometry of contacting cells. It is shown that in the absence of conductivity increase in the contact zone the values of transmission coefficient. k = 0.2 divided by 0.3. are available. k is evaluated for early embryonic cells. The mechanisms of electric coupling in early embryonic cells and in heart tissue are discussed.

Cell Membrane Permeability

[Drift of vortex in the myocardium].

The behavior of a vortex in rabbit myocardium with artificial inhomogeneity was studied using mapping technique. The inhomogeneity was created by perfusion of a part of the preparation with quinidine solution. Quinidine increased the refractory period of the myocardium and diminished the conduction velocity. It has been found that the vortex drifts along the border of the inhomogeneity because of the difference of refractory periods. The drift velocity was about 4 cm/s, which was five times less than the wave velocity. The direction of the drift was determined by the vector (----omega X----delta R), where ----omega is the angular velocity of vortex rotation, and ----delta R is a gradient of the refractory period.

Animals

[A possibility of significant lowering the defibrillation current by determining the right time for application of a defibrillating pulse. A mathematical model].

The effect of defibrillating pulses on the functionally determined re-entries (leading circles) was studied by computer simulation. Arrhythmias caused by different numbers of leading circles (from 1 to 18) were investigated. The defibrillation threshold was found to vary 2-4-fold, depending on the time of application of a pulse. At small currents the defibrillation mechanism is principally different from the commonly known one and is linked to the movement of leading circles towards each other or towards the boundary of the excitable tissue.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac

[Interaction of spiral and flat periodic autowaves in an active medium].

Interaction between the rotating wave and a periodic external source in the model of Fitz Hugh--Nagumo type was computed. When the periods of the external source are longer than the rotation period of the spiral wave (T greater than Ts) the external source does not affect the spiral wave. At T less than Ts autowave synchronization effects are observed. The oscillation period predetermined by the external source is set in all the points of the medium except the neighbourhood of the spiral wave. The dislocation (wavebreak) persists in the medium drifting slowly at the angle to the wave vector of the flat waves. After the external source is eliminated, the spiral wave with the original period restores from this dislocation. When the dislocation reaches the interface, it disappears. In this case after the switching off of the external source the resting state is established. A theory of the drift is proposed which connects the drift velocity with the nucleus size and the rotation period of spiral wave.

Heart Rate