Structure-function mapping of the heart to understand abnormal heart rhythms

Structure-function mapping of spatial heterogeneities of the heart and their effects on sympathetic modulation of ventricular arrhythmias

Ventricular arrhythmias can lead to sudden cardiac death. There is currently no method of preventing sudden cardiac death, and there is a need to understand the underlying electrical and nervous disruption that causes the abnormal rhythm. This project aims to make a map of the heart’s electrical activity to enable a greater understanding as to the causes of this life-threatening condition. Professor Andre Ng and colleagues at the University of Leicester have been awarded a 2-year grant to research the characteristics and causes behind ventricular arrhythmia. This condition is a dangerous abnormal rhythm in the ventricles – the heart chambers which supply all organs of the body with oxygenated blood. The group has previously studied animal heart samples in the laboratory and is using these heart samples to look at the electrical characteristics on the surface of the left ventricle and through its left wall. They will then look at how direct nerve stimulation of this area affects the electrical activity of the heart and compare this information with the molecular function of the heart in order to get a better understanding of how abnormal heart rhythms come about.