The role of cardiac tissue biomechanical characteristics on electrical, structural, and arrhythmic properties

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The heart is composed of electrically active cells. The cell is mechanically coupled by an elastic matrix. There is a functional link between mechanical and electrical actions. This link can change under pathological conditions when the tissue is stretched. The dispersion of stretch throughout the tissue can differ. Electrical properties can change with stretch through activation of special electrical channels. High level of stretch even induces cell death and fibrosis. Increasing fibrosis results in the formation of obstacles to electrical propagation. The changes in electrical properties and the formation of obstacles can both play an important role in cardiac arrhythmias. New tools to understand the effects of tissue stretch on arrhythmias are needed. The main objective of this project is to build a realistic model of the effects of stretch and fibrosis on electrical activity of cardiac tissue. However, there is limited data and tools to detail these effects.