Effects of changes of ischaemic region conductivity in the heart: a 1D model

Abstract

The effects of changes in cardiac tissue conductivity within a region of cardiac ischaemia are studied via a simple one dimensional model of the tissue. The one dimensional bidomain equation governing the electric potential within the heart is solved analytically using simple assumptions regarding the variation in conductivity within the tissue. This simple model indicates that a greater reduction in intracellular conductivity than in extracellular conductivity leads to an increase in heart surface potentials and vice-versa. It is also demonstrated that this result is in accord with observations from the numerical solution of the full three dimensional bidomain equation.