Impact of mechanical deformation on pseudo-ECG: a simulation study

Area of Science:

• Computational biology
• Biophysics
• Cardiovascular modeling

Background:

• Electrophysiological simulations are vital for understanding heart conditions.
• Existing models often neglect the heart's mechanical motion during the cardiac cycle.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of mechanical deformation on electrophysiological simulation outcomes.
• To compare different electromechanical coupling strategies.

Main Methods:

• Developed an electro-mechanical model integrating electrophysiology (mono-domain equation, Bueno-Orovio model) and mechanics (Guccione-Costa hyperelastic law, Nash-Panfilov active force).
• Generated pseudo-electrocardiograms (ECG) from simulated electrical signal propagation in deforming tissue slabs.
• Compared purely electrophysiological (PE) simulations with mono-directional (MD) and bi-directional (BD) electromechanical coupling.

Main Results:

• Bi-directional (BD) and purely electrophysiological (PE) simulations yielded distinct S- and T-waves.
• Mono-directional (MD) simulations approximated BD results, except when cardiac fibers aligned with a short axis.
• QRS-complex notching was more pronounced in MD compared to BD simulations.

Conclusions:

• Tissue deformation must be incorporated into electrophysiological simulations for accurate ECG waveform analysis.
• Electromechanical coupling significantly affects simulated ECG parameters, particularly S- and T-waves.