The determination of the human ventricular gradient from body surface potential map data

Summary We have analyzed the Wilson ventricular gradient in terms of body surface potential maps and of the reduction of such surface patterns to equivalent dipoles or vectors. While the ventricular gradient traditionally was treated as first a scalar, then a vector concept, we found that the three entities (QRS area, T area, QRST area) did not reduce to vectors with a common location. However, conventional vector addition (QRST area = QRS area + T area) did precisely apply. Further we found considerable more-than-vector or extra-dipolar information remaining for all three entities after removal of the dipole effect. This suggests that maps of these entities should be considered the boundaries of complex electrical fields rather than simple surface effects of vectors.