An interactive in vivo and molecular investigation of the arrhythmogenic mechanisms of sudden cardiac death

仅在美国，心脏骤停（SCA）每年就夺去30多万人的生命。在心脏骤停之前，表面心脏示踪（ECG）发生交替变化，这被认为是由心脏外部电活动的波动引起的。这些波动最初彼此同步（和谐交替），然后在退化为心室颤动（VF）之前变得不同步（不协调交替）。虽然动物研究已经证明了这一点，但在人类身上研究这些事件是不可能的。我们开发了一种独特的策略来研究接受心脏直视手术的患者的这些变化。利用这些测量数据，我们将能够更好地理解危险节律是如何以及为什么产生的。这将有助于我们更好地识别哪些人最有可能突然死亡，并使我们能够创建心脏电活动的计算机模型。这将有助于开发针对这些患者的新疗法。

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) claims over 300,000 lives per year in the U.S. alone. Prior to cardiac arrest alternating changes on the surface heart tracing (ECG) occur which are thought to arise from fluctuations in the electrical activity on the outside of the heart. These fluctuations are initially in synch with one another (concordant alternans) and then become out of synch (discordant alternans) before degenerating into ventricular fibrillation (VF). Although animal studies have demonstrated this, it has not been possible to study these events in man. We have developed a unique strategy to investigate these changes in patients undergoing open heart surgery. Using data from these measurements we will be able to better understand how and why dangerous rhythms develop. This will lead to improvements in identifying people at the greatest risk of sudden death and allow us to create computer models of electrical activity in the heart. This will aid the development of new treatments in these patients.