Electrical Rotors in the Heart

Electrophysiological processes in the heart are responsible for impulse formation and conduction. The normal action of these processes is necessary for the production of an efficient contraction. Interruption of impulse formation or conduction [3, 18] by either biological, pathological, or toxicological mechanisms can cause a disruption of the normal rhythm, which is called an arrhythmia. Two types of abnormal impulse formation can cause cardiac arrhythmias. The first type involves those cells that have the ability to depolarize spontaneously [19] and generate their own action potentials. This includes cells found in the sinoatrial (SA) node, atrioventricular (AV) node, His bundle, and ventricular Purkinje system. By suppressing or enhancing the rate of spontaneous depolarization, an arrhythmia can develop.