Abstract
Cardiac waves can fail to propagate when the membrane potential of
the cells in the wavefront rises too slowly. The sodium channel inactivation
gates play an important role in this process of propagation block.
Simple models including inactivation gates can have travelling waves
of constant form with two possible velocities. A stability analysis
demonstrates that the slower velocity is always unstable, and in
limited parameter regimes the faster velocity can also be unstable.
Waves with the lower velocity propagate a finite distance before
they dissipate due to this instability and this distance is calculated.
The distance can be large suggesting that they might be seen in certain
pathological conditions. The analytical results are compared with
numerical simulations of the simplified model and a detailed cardiac
ionic model.
- 15522359
- action
- animals,
- cardiovascular,
- cells,
- channels,
- computing,
- conduction,
- electrophysiology,
- gov't,
- heart
- heart,
- humans,
- magnetics,
- mathematical
- models,
- muscle
- neural
- neurological,
- neurons,
- non-u.s.
- potentials,
- rate,
- research
- sodium
- support,
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