Abstract
Circus movement of excitation, spontaneous diastolic depolarization and other causes of rhythmic activity have been the subject of intensive investigation for many years, and studies utilizing microelectrode techniques have defined many important mechanisms (163, 168). These studies have suggested physiological and pharmacological interventions which can terminate such ectopic impulse initiation. Some interventions are specific for arrhythmias that depend on automaticity and others for arrhythmias that result from reentry (374). An ideal goal for therapy of any human cardiac arrhythmia would require determining the mechanism underlying its origin and the use of a therapeutic intervention specific for that mechanism to terminate the arrhythmia. Although attaining this goal is still in the future many basic electrophysiological discoveries have been applied to determine the mechanisms for human arrhythmias.
Certain studies reported here were supported by U.S. Public Health Service Grants HL 12738 and HL 14899 from the National Heart and Lung Institute and by a grant-in-aid from the American Heart Assoc.
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© 1978 Martinus Nijhoff Medical Division
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Wit, A.L., Wiggins, J.R., Cranefield, P.F. (1978). Some Effects of Electrical Stimulation on Impulse Initiation in Cardiac Fibers; its Relevance for the Determination of the Mechanisms of Clinical Cardiac Arrhythmias. In: Wellens, H.J.J., Lie, K.I., Janse, M.J. (eds) The Conduction System of the Heart. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-9726-4_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-9726-4_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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