electrical wave propagation in cardiac tissue.
Models of the cardiac action potential are similar to
the Nobel Prize-winning Hogdkin-Huxley model of the
nerve action potential. In Chapter 2, we carefully
construct a simple, two-variable model of the cardiac
action potential, modeling the cell membrane as an
electrical circuit. Unlike nerve cells, cardiac
tissue exhibits a feature known as electrical
restitution, which can be exploited to predict the
onset of certain arrhythmias. Chapters 3 and 4
illustrate how to derive restitution relationships
for both the duration and velocity of action
potential, using the model from Chapter 2 as a
starting point. Finally, in Chapter 5 we use these
restitution relationships to analyze how cardiac
fibers respond to a sudden change in the pacing rate.
Our mathematical analysis provides some rather
surprising predictions regarding how abnormal rhythms
may originate.