Integrative computational approach to the role Of myocardial structure in myocardial function and dysfunction

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We are trying to discover how the complex three-dimensional structure of the heart muscle effects the conduction of electrical excitation that drives each heart beat.It has been shown, by us and others, that the muscle cells of the heart are organised into an intricate highly complex structural network, which is paradoxically both highly regular and highly variable. Structure is known to influence the spread of electricity in both health and disease, but the details of this are not known. Structural changes through the heart wall together with differences in electrical properties are thought to play a role in the success or failure of defibrillation.Investigating cardiac electrical conduction is a challenge in living people as it would require imaging the structure and excitation of the beating heart.We will investigate this question using the rabbit as an animal model. We will probe the microscopic structure of the normal and diseased heart using medical imaging methods and we will record the movement of excitation through the heart using dyes which change colour depending on voltage. This information will be analysed using a sophisticated computer model. We will address the important question: how is the heart rhythm affected by heart structure?