Simulation of Low-Voltage Cardioversion in a Two-Dimensional Isotropic Excitable Medium Using Ionic Cell Models

Abstract

Spiral waves in the heart underlie dangerous cardiac arrhythmias; therefore, methods of their elimination are of great interest. One way to do this is to remove the spiral waves using external high-frequency stimulation with a period smaller than that of the spiral. This type of treatment is called overdrive pacing and is an example of low-voltage cardioversion-defibrillation. It was studied in our recent works using a simple cardiac model proposed by Aliev and Panfilov. In this paper, we simulated low-voltage cardioversion using two biophysical models of the cardiac cells in an isotropic excitable square. We found stimulation periods that result in the effective removal of the spiral waves and measured the drift velocities induced by the stimulation. The effects of reducing of some ionic currents on this process were also investigated.