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The Role of Electroporation

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Cardiac Bioelectric Therapy

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Abstract

A therapeutic application of electrical current to cardiac tissue for reviving the normal function (defibrillation, pacing) or for ablating pathological conduction pathways inevitably has to take into account the phenomenon of electroporation, the electric-field-induced rupture of sarcolemma that is usually evidenced by a drastic unselective increase in cell membrane permeability to small ions and large molecules. This chapter describes some aspects of this phenomenon in relation to cardiac therapy and research. Particularly, it provides evidences that (1) electroporation of the heart tissue can occur during clinically relevant intensities of the external electrical field and (2) electroporation can affect the outcome of defibrillation therapy, being both pro- and antiarrhythmic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiac Rhythm and Heart Failure Department, Medtronic, Mounds View, MN, USA

    Vladimir P. Nikolski

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Igor R. Efimov

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  1. Vladimir P. Nikolski
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  2. Igor R. Efimov
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Correspondence to Vladimir P. Nikolski .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Igor R. Efimov

  2. National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Fu Siong Ng

  3. Philips EPD Solutions, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Jacob I. Laughner

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Nikolski, V.P., Efimov, I.R. (2021). The Role of Electroporation. In: Efimov, I.R., Ng, F.S., Laughner, J.I. (eds) Cardiac Bioelectric Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63355-4_17

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