Changes in sinus node function in a rabbit model of heart failure with ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure is associated with profound changes in the balance of the autonomic nervous system, such as vagal withdrawal and increased catecholamine levels. It is not known whether the intrinsic sinus node function changes during the progression of heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: We implanted transmitters for Holter recording in an established rabbit model of heart failure (n=9) and observed changes in sinus cycle length and the occurrence of arrhythmias during the progression of heart failure. The in vitro sinus cycle length and the responses to acetylcholine and norepinephrine in the isolated right atria were analyzed in 12 rabbits with heart failure and in 6 control rabbits. In vivo cycle length increased in some animals and decreased in others. Sudden death occurred in 3 of 9 rabbits. These rabbits had developed a shorter cycle length than the surviving rabbits. Ventricular tachycardias developed in all but 1 rabbit. The in vitro sinus cycle length increased in heart failure. The response to acetylcholine also increased in heart failure, whereas the response to norepinephrine was unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in intrinsic sinus node function during the progression of heart failure cannot explain the observed decreases in heart rate variability and/or baroreflex sensitivity in this disease, because increased responsiveness to acetylcholine would be expected to cause the opposite.

Slow potentials in the atrioventricular junctional area of patients operated on for atrioventricular node tachycardias and in isolated porcine hearts.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to 1) investigate extracellular electrograms in the atrioventricular (AV) junctional area of patients with AV node reentrant tachycardia, 2) compare them with recordings made in isolated porcine hearts, and 3) study their origin. BACKGROUND: Electrograms with slow components have been used to target the delivery of radiofrequency energy for the cure of AV node reentrant tachycardia. The origin of these electrograms is unknown. METHODS: In 12 human and 19 porcine hearts, extracellular recordings were made simultaneously from 64 sites. In five other porcine hearts, intracellular recordings were made at sites at which extracellular electrograms revealed slow potentials. Histologic investigations were carried out in four of these hearts. RESULTS: Electrograms with slow components were recorded in five human and eight porcine hearts. These signals were found at sites up to 12 mm from the His bundle. Characteristics of the electrograms did not differ significantly among human and porcine hearts. Electrophysiologic evidence for multiple pathways was present in four hearts. Superficial impalements with microelectrodes at sites with slow potentials showed action potentials with AV node characteristics. In the majority of these recordings, the upstroke coincided with the downstroke of slow potentials. Histologic investigations of the sites of impalement revealed transitional cells directly underneath the endocardium. CONCLUSIONS: Slow potentials were recorded in both human and porcine hearts in similar measure. They arise from transitional cells and have action potentials similar to N cells.

Fractionated electrograms in dilated cardiomyopathy: origin and relation to abnormal conduction.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to investigate the origin of the fractionated electrogram and its relations to abnormal conduction in cardiomyopathic myocardium. BACKGROUND: Patients with dilated cardiomyopathy have a high incidence of ventricular tachycardias. Electrograms recorded in these patients are often fractionated. METHODS: High resolution mapping (200-microM interelectrode distance) of the electrical activity was carried out in 11 superfused papillary muscles and 6 trabeculae from 7 patients who underwent heart transplantation because of dilated cardiomyopathy. Similar measurements were taken in four papillary muscles from dog hearts in which electrical barriers had been artificially made. Ten human preparations were studied histologically. RESULTS: All preparations revealed sites with fractionated electrograms. In three human preparations, activation patterns showed a discernible line of activation block running parallel to the fiber direction. Fractionated electrograms were recorded at sites contiguous to the line of block. In five preparations, fractionated electrograms were recorded at sites where lines of block were not identified. In these preparations, electrical barriers consisted of short stretches of fibrous tissue. In the remaining nine preparations, fractionated electrograms were recorded, both from sites contiguous to distinct obstacles and sites without evidence of a barrier. CONCLUSIONS: Our observations showed that fractionated electrograms recorded in myocardium damaged by cardiomyopathy were due to both distinct, long strands and short stretches of fibrous tissue. Delayed conduction was caused by curvation of activation around the distinct lines of block and by the wavy course of activation between the short barriers. The latter reflects extreme nonuniform anisotropy.

Triggered activity and automaticity in ventricular trabeculae of failing human and rabbit hearts.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess the occurrence of triggered activity and automaticity in ventricular trabeculae from failing human hearts and normal and failing rabbit hearts during exposure to a normal and altered extracellular environment. METHODS: Ventricular trabeculae were harvested from failing human hearts (from patients undergoing cardiac transplantation) and from normal and failing rabbit hearts (combined volume and pressure overload). Trabeculae were superfused with normal Tyrode solution followed by a modified Tyrode solution, which mimicked the extracellular milieu in patients with severe heart failure. Modified Tyrode solution contained low potassium (3.0 mM), low magnesium (0.4 mM), and noradrenaline (1 microM). RESULTS: During superfusion with normal Tyrode solution, early afterdepolarisations, delayed afterdepolarisations, and automaticity were not observed in trabeculae from failing hearts. In the modified Tyrode solution, early afterdepolarisations could be induced in 26% of control rabbit and 30% of failing rabbit trabeculae, but never in human trabeculae. During superfusion with the modified solution delayed afterdepolarisations or triggered activity could be induced in 50% of the human failing trabeculae, in 43% of the failing rabbit trabeculae, and in 9% of the normal rabbit trabeculae (p < 0.01); automaticity was observed in 44% of the human trabeculae, and in 7% of the failing rabbit trabeculae, but in none of the control rabbit trabeculae. In failing rabbit myocardium action potential duration was prolonged at cycle lengths > or = 350 ms, but not at shorter cycle lengths. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed afterdepolarisations and automaticity, but not early afterdepolarisations, occur more frequently in myocardium from failing hearts, but only during superfusion with a modified Tyrode solution. This emphasises that the extracellular environment is important with respect to arrhythmogenesis in heart failure, apart from the fixed cellular defect due to heart failure per se. Prolongation of the action potential in failing hearts does not occur at physiological and higher heart rates and therefore cannot be regarded as a protective factor in the prevention of reentrant arrhythmias. The rate of triggered and automatic rhythms was slow. Therefore these mechanisms cannot be responsible for clinical ventricular tachycardias or fibrillation, but may serve as triggers for reentrant arrhythmias.

Interaction of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system on ventricular refractoriness assessed by local fibrillation intervals in the canine heart.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to assess the effects of autonomic nerve stimulation on local ventricular refractoriness by measuring local ventricular fibrillation intervals. METHODS: In 10 dogs on cardiopulmonary bypass, ventricular fibrillation intervals were recorded simultaneously at up to 32 sites before and after neural stimulation. In four dogs (group 1) the response to bilateral stellate ganglion stimulation was measured before and after bilateral cervical vagotomy. In three dogs (group 2) bilateral stellate ganglion stimulation, vagal nerve stimulation, and combined vagal and stellate ganglia stimulation were performed. In three dogs (group 3) the same protocol was applied after total decentralisation of the autonomic nervous system. RESULTS: Bilateral stellate ganglion stimulation shortened the ventricular fibrillation interval at 44-50% of myocardial sites before and after vagotomy, whereas prolongation of the interval was observed at 14-18% of the sites. At higher stimulus strength shortening of the interval was measured at 85% of the sites in the intact and decentralised groups. No prolongation was observed. The shortening was largest in the decentralised group (11.1 ms). Dispersion in refractoriness increased in hearts from all groups, but not in each individual heart. Left, right, or bilateral vagal stimulation was without effect at about 75% of the tested sites. The fact that the response to autonomic nerve stimulation varies from site to site warrants our approach of simultaneous recordings at multiple sites. Dispersion in refractoriness was not affected by vagal stimulation. Combined autonomic stimulation had approximately the same effect on dispersion in refractoriness as bilateral stellate ganglion stimulation alone. However, vagal stimulation attenuated the responses to bilateral stellate ganglion stimulation by some 20% in the decentralised group. CONCLUSIONS: Vagal stimulation has minor effects on ventricular refractoriness, but this is not due to sparse innervation, since vagal stimulation is able to mitigate the effects of sympathetic stimulation in decentralised hearts.

Dispersion of refractoriness in normal and ischaemic canine ventricle: effects of sympathetic stimulation.

OBJECTIVE: Dispersion in refractoriness is considered a major factor in induction and persistence of cardiac arrhythmias. The sympathetic nervous system is known to modulate refractoriness. An index of refractoriness has therefore been assessed in normal and ischaemic myocardium simultaneously at multiple sites, with and without sympathetic stimulation. METHODS: In six dogs on total cardiopulmonary bypass the average interval between local activations was measured during artificially induced ventricular fibrillation from extracellular electrograms simultaneously recorded from 32 ventricular sites. These local ventricular fibrillation intervals may be used as an index of local refractoriness. RESULTS: During regional ischaemia, ventricular fibrillation intervals of ischaemic sites could prolong by up to 60% after 3 min following coronary occlusion. Left stellate ganglion stimulation during ischaemia produced either no response or prolonged the ventricular fibrillation intervals even further at ischaemic sites, whereas ventricular fibrillation intervals at non-ischaemic sites shortened. Dispersion in refractoriness across the ischaemic border increased by 14-59% in individual hearts following sympathetic stimulation during acute, regional ischaemia. CONCLUSIONS: Due to opposite effects on normal and ischaemic myocardium, sympathetic stimulation increases the difference in refractoriness over the ischaemic border. This may enhance the chance for regional conduction block and the propensity to re-entrant arrhythmias.

Randomised phase II study of siltuximab (CNTO 328), an anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody, in combination with mitoxantrone/prednisone versus mitoxantrone/prednisone alone in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: This open-label phase II trial assessed mitoxantrone/prednisone (M/P) with and without siltuximab (CNTO 328), an anti-interleukin-6 chimeric monoclonal antibody, for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who received prior docetaxel-based chemotherapy. METHODS: Part 1 assessed the safety of biweekly siltuximab 6 mg/kg plus M 12 mg/m(2) every 3 weeks and P. Part 2 assessed efficacy and safety of siltuximab plus M/P versus M/P alone. The primary end-point was progression-free survival (PFS). Progression was defined as progressive disease per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST), or ≥ 3 new skeletal lesions with clinical deterioration or without deterioration confirmed by repeated bone scan. Rising prostate-specific antigen was not considered progression. RESULTS: Siltuximab plus M/P was well tolerated in Part 1 (n=9). In Part 2, 48 and 49 patients received siltuximab plus M/P or M/P alone, respectively. Enrolment was prematurely terminated by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee since an apparent imbalance in patient baseline characteristics (favoring the M/P only arm) made it unlikely that the study could achieve its primary efficacy end-point. Median PFS was 97 days with siltuximab combination and 228 days with M/P alone (hazard ratio, 1.72; P=0.043). Use of a novel non-validated PFS definition may have contributed to this result. Abnormal laboratory assessments were more frequent with the combination. Infection and febrile neutropenia rates were similar between groups. Greater C-reactive protein suppression was achieved during siltuximab combination treatment compared with M/P alone (P=0.0003). CONCLUSION: While siltuximab plus M/P appeared well tolerated, improvement in outcomes was not demonstrated.

Mechanisms of arrhythmias in heart failure.

The diagnosis of heart failure infers a bad prognosis. Mortality is high and many patients die suddenly. Ventricular arrhythmias, commonly observed in patients with heart failure, are thought to underlie at least some of these sudden deaths. The mechanism of arrhythmias occurring in the setting of heart failure is still unclear. Experimental evidence points to a higher tendency for failing myocardium to develop delayed and early afterdepolarization-induced triggered activity and automaticity. Conditions favoring reentry also have been described in failing hearts. Modulating factors such as sympathetic activation, electrolyte disturbances, and chronic stretch are present in the setting of heart failure and may favor all of the mentioned mechanisms of arrhythmias. Clinical evaluation of arrhythmias in patients and animals with heart failure and the effects of pharmacologic treatment of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with depressed left ventricular function further accentuate that more than one mechanism of arrhythmia may be operating in heart failure and underscore the importance of modulating factors such as sympathetic activation and stretch.

Morphology of electrophysiologically identified junctions between Purkinje fibers and ventricular muscle in rabbit and pig hearts.

Purkinje fiber-ventricular muscle (PV) junctions were identified by extracellular recording in isolated, superfused preparations from rabbit and pig hearts. Microelectrode recordings from different cell types at the PV junctions were obtained, and the cells recorded from were retrieved microscopically. To this end 26 tissue blocks were serially sectioned at 4 microns. Microscopic identification of the very cell recorded from was obtained in five of seven Purkinje, five of 16 transitional, and two of two ventricular muscle cell recordings. In addition, some tissue blocks from both junctional and nonjunctional sites identified only by extracellular recording were examined in serial sections. Transitional cells in the rabbit heart are thin, broad bandlike cells (30-35 by 3-5 microns) arranged in one or two sheets in the subendocardium between the Purkinje layer and ventricular mass. Transitional cells are coupled via short, thin strands to both Purkinje and ventricular muscle cells. A second type of PV coupling was observed frequently in the pig, but in only one of 21 cases in the rabbit. Here, a short, linear segment of small transitional cells connected large-diameter Purkinje cells to ventricular muscle cells. Distances found between Purkinje-transitional cell coupling sites and transitional cell-ventricular muscle coupling sites varied from 100 to 1,000 microns in the rabbit heart and from 50 to several hundred micrometers in the pig heart. Action potentials from transitional cells typically showed multiple components in their upstroke. Both our morphological and electrophysiological findings are compatible with the existence of a relatively high-resistance barrier between Purkinje and transitional cells and between transitional and ventricular muscle cells.

Cellular uncoupling during ischemia in hypertrophied and failing rabbit ventricular myocardium: effects of preconditioning.

BACKGROUND: Patients with heart failure show a very high incidence of arrhythmias and sudden death that is often preceded by ischemia; however, data on electrophysiological changes during ischemia in failing myocardium are sparse. We studied electrical uncoupling during ischemia in normal and failing myocardium. METHODS AND RESULTS: Tissue resistance, intracellular Ca2+ concentration (Indo-1 fluorescence ratio), and mechanical activity were simultaneously determined in arterially perfused right ventricular papillary muscles from 11 normal and 15 failing rabbits. Heart failure was induced by combined volume and pressure overload. Before sustained ischemia, muscles were subjected to control perfusion (non-PC) or ischemic preconditioning (PC). The onset of uncoupling during ischemia was equal in non-PC normal (13.6+/-0.9 minutes of ischemia) and non-PC failing hearts (13.3+/-0.7 minutes of ischemia). PC postponed uncoupling in normal hearts by 10 minutes. In failing hearts, however, PC caused a large variability in the onset of uncoupling during ischemia (mean, 12.2+/-2.1; range, 5 to 22 minutes of ischemia). The duration of uncoupling process was prolonged in failing hearts (12.9+/-0.9 minutes) compared with normal hearts (7.8+/-0.4 minutes). The degree of heart failure and relative heart weight of the failing hearts significantly correlated with the earlier uncoupling after PC and the duration of uncoupling. In every experiment, the start of Ca2+ rise and contracture preceded uncoupling during ischemia. CONCLUSIONS: The duration of the process of ischemia-induced electrical uncoupling in failing hearts is prolonged compared with that in normal hearts. Ischemic PC has detrimental effects in severely failing papillary muscles because it advances the moment of irreversible ischemic damage.

Origin and significance of double potentials near the atrioventricular node. Correlation of extracellular potentials, intracellular potentials, and histology.

BACKGROUND: Atrioventricular junctional (AV nodal) reentrant tachycardia can be cured by catheter ablation of the slow pathway, which is part of the reentrant circuit. Previous work has suggested that extracellular double potentials may help identify the site of the slow pathway, but the origin and significance of these potentials are controversial. The aim of this study was to identify the source of these potentials. METHODS AND RESULTS: Studies were performed in isolated, blood-perfused porcine (n = 8) and canine (n = 4) hearts. Several methods were used to identify the origin of potentials: microelectrode recording, extracellular mapping, pacing from multiple sites, and light microscopy. Two types of double potentials, similar to those found in humans, were found in all hearts. LH potentials consisted of a low-frequency deflection followed by a high-frequency deflection during sinus rhythm or anterior septal pacing. HL potentials consisted of a high-frequency deflection followed by a low-frequency deflection. LH potentials were found close to the coronary sinus orifice. They were caused by asynchronous activation of the sinus septum and the region between the coronary sinus orifice and tricuspid annulus. HL double potentials were found along the tricuspid annulus. They were caused by asynchronous activation of two cell layers. The high-frequency component was caused by depolarization of atrial-type cells in the deep subendocardial layer. The low-frequency component was caused by depolarization of cells with nodal characteristics close to the endocardium. These cells were present around the entire tricuspid annulus, were not part of the compact AV node, and could be dissociated from the bulk of the atria by rapid atrial pacing. CONCLUSIONS: LH potentials are caused by asynchronous activation of muscle bundles above and below the coronary sinus orifice. Their proximity to the site of the slow pathway is probably serendipity. HL double potentials are caused by asynchronous activation of atrial cells and a band of nodal-type cells close to the tricuspid annulus. The band of nodal-type cells is not part of the compact AV node and may represent the substrate of the slow AV nodal pathway.

Dilated abdominal paraaortic lymphatic duct: a possible pitfall in retroperitoneal US.

Three cases of dilated abdominal left paraaortic lymphatic duct are described. The diagnosis was established by means of sonography and confirmed with lymphography in all three patients. A sonographically guided puncture of the lymphatic duct was performed in one patient. Dilatation of these lymphatic ducts was possibly the consequence of previous upper abdominal surgery in two patients and a coronary bypass operation in one.

Electrophysiologic and extracellular ionic changes during acute ischemia in failing and normal rabbit myocardium.

The incidence of ventricular arrhythmias is higher in failing hearts than in control hearts, especially during acute ischemia. Electrophysiological and extracellular ionic changes during acute ischemia in normal and failing rabbit myocardium were assessed. Heart failure was induced in rabbits by combined volume and pressure overload. In perfused papillary muscles, the onset of electrical uncoupling and changes in action potential duration and conduction velocity during acute ischemia were determined. In Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts the changes in extracellular potassium concentration ([K+]o) and pH during acute global ischemia were studied. In perfused papillary muscles, during the first 10 min of ischemia, action potential duration at 80% of repolarization decreased more in preparations from failing than from control hearts (from 174 to 104 ms and from 156 to 119 ms respectively (P < 0.001)). Conduction velocity was significantly lower in failing hearts during ischemia (P < 0.005). The onset of electrical uncoupling was similar in failing and control hearts (mean +/- S.E.M., 17 +/- 1 and 15 +/- 1 min respectively, n.s.). Langendorff-perfused hearts [K+]o, after 10 min of ischemia, was 11.0 +/- 0.4 mM in failing and 9.5 +/- 0.3 mM in control hearts (P < 0.01), while the change in pH was the same. After pretreatment with glibenclamide, an ATP sensitive K+ channel blocker, [K+]o reached lower values after 10 min of ischemia in both failing (8.8 +/- 0.5 mM) and control hearts (7.2 +/- 0.4 mM). During ischemia, action potential duration shortening is more pronounced and conduction velocity is lower in failing myocardium than in control myocardium. [K+]o reaches higher values during acute ischemia in failing compared with normal myocardium. These changes are not caused by an earlier activation of IK.ATP. Increased spatial dispersion in electrophysiological parameters and [K+]o over the ischemic border in failing hearts may explain the higher propensity for reentrant arrhythmias during acute regional ischemia in failing hearts.

Ventricular tachycardia after in vivo DC shock ablation in dogs. Electrophysiologic and histologic correlation.

BACKGROUND: DC shock catheter ablation for the treatment of ventricular tachycardia (VT) may induce VT episodes that disappear within days. METHODS AND RESULTS: A 30-J cathodal shock was delivered to the endocardial left ventricular wall in 15 closed-chest dogs. All dogs had VT during the first day after ablation. Eleven of these dogs were studied on the first day. Extensive epicardial and endocardial activation mapping in vivo, in Langendorff-perfused hearts, and in tissue blocks in a tissue bath localized the site of origin of VT to subendocardial Purkinje fibers in a border zone surrounding the central necrotic ablation lesion. Intracellular recording showed that this zone consisted of a subendocardial superficial layer (SSL) of cells with abnormal characteristics, a resting membrane potential (RMP) of -58 +/- 11 mV (mean +/- SD), and an action potential amplitude (APA) of 61 +/- 20 mV. In addition, the steepness of phase 0 of the action potential was markedly reduced. In three dogs abnormal automaticity was found in a very small area. Immediately below the SSL, cells were normal with an RMP of -78 +/- 5 mV and an APA of 107 +/- 8 mV. Histology confirmed a thin SSL with edematous and necrotic cells, hemorrhage, and infiltration. The other four dogs were studied at 1 week after ablation when VT was absent. Microelectrode impalement in the SSL was either impossible or showed nearly normal action potential characteristics. Histological examination showed a markedly thickened fibrotic subendocardial layer at places where impalement was impossible. Normal subendocardium was found in other areas of the border zone. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that VT after DC shock ablation originates from cells with abnormal automaticity in the superficial subendocardial border zone around the central ablation lesion. Within 1 week edematous and necrotic cells in this border zone are replaced by a fibrotic layer, and this transition is associated with the disappearance of VT.

Arrhythmogenesis in heart failure.

In a rabbit model of heart failure produced by combined pressure and volume overload, nonsustained ventricular tachycardias developed in 15 of 23 failing rabbits. Sinus rate was increased in rabbits dying suddenly, but was decreased in survivors. This also was true in isolated preparations. Microelectrode recordings from ventricular trabeculae both from patients with end-stage failure and from failing rabbits showed that in half of the preparations, delayed afterdepolarizations and triggered activity occurred, but only in the presence of norepinephrine and a lowered extracellular K+ concentration of 3 mM. This was due to spontaneous release of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Slow conduction in the infarcted human heart. 'Zigzag' course of activation.

BACKGROUND: Ventricular tachycardias occurring in the chronic phase of myocardial infarction are caused by reentry. Areas of slow conduction, facilitating reentry, are often found in the infarcted zone. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the mechanism of slow conduction in the chronic infarcted human heart. METHODS AND RESULTS: Spread of activation was studied in infarcted papillary muscles from hearts of patients who underwent heart transplantation because of infarction. Recordings were carried out on 10 papillary muscles that were superfused in a tissue bath. High-resolution mapping was performed in areas revealing slow conduction. Activation delay between sites perpendicular to the fiber direction and 1.4 mm apart could be as long as 45 milliseconds. Analysis of activation times revealed that activation spread in tracts parallel to the fiber direction. Conduction velocity in the tracts was between 0.6 and 1 m/s. Although tracts were separated from each other over distances up to 8 mm, they often connected with each other at one or more sites, forming a complex network of connected tracts. In this network, wave fronts could travel perpendicular to the fiber direction. Separation of tracts was due to collagenous septa. At sites where tracts were interconnected, the collagenous barriers were interrupted. CONCLUSIONS: Slow conduction perpendicular to the fiber direction in infarcted myocardial tissue is caused by a "zigzag" course of activation at high speed. Activation proceeds along pathways lengthened by branching and merging bundles of surviving myocytes ensheathed by collagenous septa.

Dispersion of 'refractoriness' in noninfarcted myocardium of patients with ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation after myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Postinfarction ventricular tachycardias (VTs) may degenerate into ventricular fibrillation (VF), but this does not happen in all patients. The underlying mechanism is not exactly known, but dispersion of refractory periods is considered a major factor in both induction and persistence of reentrant arrhythmias in general. Hypertrophied, noninfarcted myocardium has altered electrophysiological characteristics. We hypothesized that noninfarcted ventricular tissue may provide the heterogeneities that cause the transition from VT into VF. Local fibrillation intervals, ie, the average interval between local activations during VF, have previously been shown to correlate well with local refractoriness in human and canine atrium and in porcine and canine ventricle and may therefore be used as an index of local refractoriness. This technique permits simultaneous assessment of refractoriness at multiple sites. METHODS AND RESULTS: We measured local fibrillation intervals at 32 to 64 sites in the noninfarcted part of the left ventricle in patients undergoing antiarrhythmic surgery for symptomatic, drug-refractory, postinfarction ventricular tachyarrhythmias. The grid of electrodes (interelectrode distance, 7 mm) was attached to the epicardium of the left ventricle remote from the infarcted tissue. Group 1 consisted of 7 patients with hemodynamically tolerable sustained VT (VT group). Group 2 consisted of 7 patients with cardiac arrest and documented VF (VF group). With the patients on cardiopulmonary bypass, VF was induced by multiple premature stimulation. The VF interval was not significantly different in the two study groups (VT group, 136 +/- 5.5 ms; VF group, 129 +/- 3.4 ms, mean +/- SEM). However, spatial dispersion of the VF intervals (remote from the infarcted area) expressed as the coefficient of variation of VF intervals (SD x 100/mean VF interval in each heart) was significantly larger in the VF group. It was 3.63 +/- 0.56 in the VF group and 1.55 +/- 0.40 in the VT group (mean +/- SEM; P < .01). Differences between the shortest and longest VF intervals in one and the same heart and the largest difference between two adjacent sites were also larger in the VF group (P < .02 and P < .05, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows larger dispersion in VF intervals and therefore suggests larger dispersion of refractory periods in parts of the myocardium remote from the infarction in patients with postinfarction VF than in patients with postinfarction VT.

Atrioventricular junctional tissue. Discrepancy between histological and electrophysiological characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Previous work has demonstrated that cells with AV nodal-type action potentials are not confined to Koch's triangle but may extend along the AV orifices. The aim of this study was to examine the histological and electrophysiological characteristics of this tissue. METHODS AND RESULTS: Studies were performed in isolated, blood-perfused dog and pig hearts. Microelectrode recordings revealed cells with nodal-type action potentials around the tricuspid and mitral valve rings. These cells were found within 1 to 2 mm of the valve annuli. A zone of cells with intermediate action potentials, approximately 1 cm wide, separated cells with nodal-type action potentials from cells with atrial-type action potentials in the body of the atria. In cells with nodal-type action potentials, adenosine caused a reduction in action potential amplitude (49 +/- 2 versus 33 +/- 2 mV, mean +/- SE; P < .001), upstroke velocity (2.5 +/- 0.2 versus 2.0 +/- 0.2 V/s, P < .05), and duration (150 +/- 4 versus 96 +/- 8 ms, P < .001). The light microscopic appearance of AV junctional cells was similar to that of myocytes in the body of the atrium. A polyclonal antibody raised against connexin-43 bound to atrial and ventricular tissue but not to the AV junctional tissue or AV nodal region. The absence of connexin-43 correlated with the sites of cells with nodal-like action potentials. With pacing techniques, the AV junctional tissue in the region of the posterior AV nodal approaches could be electrically dissociated from atrial, AV nodal, and ventricular tissue. AV nodal echoes were induced with ventricular pacing in three dog hearts. In each case, retrograde conduction was through the slow pathway, and anterograde conduction was through the fast pathway. During echoes, activation of AV junctional cells preceded atrial activation during retrograde slow pathway conduction, but these cells were not activated during anterograde fast pathway conduction. CONCLUSIONS: AV junctional cells around both annuli are histologically similar to atrial cells but resemble nodal cells in their cellular electrophysiology, response to adenosine, and lack of connexin-43. The light microscopic appearance of AV junctional cells is a poor guide to their action potential characteristics. The AV junctional cells in the posterior AV nodal approaches appear to participate in slow pathway conduction. These cells may be the substrate of the slow "AV nodal" pathway.

Dispersion of refractoriness in canine ventricular myocardium. Effects of sympathetic stimulation.

In 18 dogs on total cardiopulmonary bypass, the average interval between local activations during artificially induced ventricular fibrillation (VF interval) was measured from extracellular electrograms, simultaneously recorded from up to 32 ventricular sites. VF intervals were used as an index of local refractoriness, based on the assumption that during ventricular fibrillation, cells are reexcited as soon as they have recovered their excitability. In support of this, microelectrode recordings in two hearts during ventricular fibrillation did not show a diastolic interval between successive action potentials. Refractory periods determined at a basic cycle length of 300 msec with the extrastimulus method correlated well with VF intervals measured at the same sites. Thus, this technique allows assessment of spatial dispersion of refractoriness during brief interventions such as sympathetic stimulation. The responses to left, right, and combined stellate ganglion stimulation varied substantially among individual hearts. This was observed both in dogs with an intact (n = 12) and decentralized (n = 6) autonomic nervous system. Individual ventricular sites could show effects of both left and right stellate ganglion stimulation (42% of tested sites) or show effects of left-sided stimulation only (31%) or right-sided stimulation only (14%). In 13% of sites, no effects of stellate stimulation were observed. Apart from these regional effects, the responses could be qualitatively different; that is, within the same heart, the VF interval prolonged at one site but shortened at another in response to the same intervention, although shortening was the general effect and prolongation the exception. Whenever sites responded to stellate ganglion stimulation with a shortening of VF interval, this shortening was approximately 10% for left, right, or combined stimulation, whether the autonomic nervous system was intact or decentralized. In six of 12 hearts in the intact group, there was a distinct regional effect of left stellate ganglion stimulation; in the other six hearts, the effects were distributed homogeneously over the ventricles. In three hearts, the effect of left stellate ganglion stimulation was strongest in the posterior wall, and in the other three hearts, in the anterior wall. The effects of right stellate ganglion stimulation were restricted to the anterior or lateral part of the left ventricle. Dispersion of VF intervals increased after left and combined stellate ganglion stimulation in the intact group and after right stellate ganglion stimulation in the decentralized group, but not significantly in every heart. This points to a marked individual variation with regard to the effects of sympathetic stimulation on electrophysiological properties of the heart.