Pacing control of local cardiac dynamics

Abstract

One approach to preventing or suppressing cardiac fibrillation is to control local cardiac electrical dynamics using externally applied electrical stimuli. This approach is predicated on the expectation that appropriate control of local dynamics will affect global dynamics and thereby prevent the initiation of reentrant excitation or terminate existing reentry. Initial efforts in this area were directed toward suppression of spatiotemporal chaos, with the objective of suppressing existing fibrillation. More recently, attempts have been made to control less complex dynamics, such as electrical alternans, with the objective of preventing fibrillation. The following sections will briefly review the strategies used to control cardiac chaos and lower dimensional dynamical behavior and discuss some potential future directions for these approaches. © 2009 Springer US.