Fractal mechanisms in the electrophysiology of the heart

Author

Goldberger, Ary L.

Author_Institution

Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

Volume

11

Issue

2

fYear

1992

fDate

6/1/1992 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

47

Lastpage

52

Abstract

Fractals are defined, and the fractal-like anatomy of the heart is described. The concept of the healthy heartbeat as a temporal fractal is examined at two specific levels of cardiac function: ventricular depolarization and heart rate regulation. It is suggested that complex fluctuations in healthy heart rate may be due in part to deterministic chaos in the neuroautonomic control system. Furthermore, perturbations of this control system, such as those seen in heart failure and in sudden cardiac death syndromes, may lead to a loss of complexity of heart rate dynamics.

Keywords

bioelectric phenomena; cardiology; fractals; control system perturbations; deterministic chaos; healthy heartbeat; heart anatomy; heart electrophysiology; heart failure; heart rate dynamics complexity; heart rate regulation; neuroautonomic control system; sudden cardiac death syndromes; temporal fractal; ventricular depolarization; Aging; Biomedical engineering; Fractals; Frequency; Geometry; Heart; Hospitals; Myocardium; Shape; Solid modeling; Computer Simulation; Electrocardiography; Electrophysiology; Fractals; Heart; Heart Conduction System; Heart Rate; Humans; Models, Biological; Nonlinear Dynamics; Ventricular Function;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0739-5175

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/51.139036

Filename

139036