Dependence of anisotropic myocardial electrical resistivity on cardiac phase and excitation frequency

Knowledge of myocardial electrical resistivity is of interest because passive electrical properties govern the electrotonic spread of current through the myocardium and influence the shape and velocity of the excitation wave. In addition, measurements of myocardial resistivity may provide information about tissue structure and components. The aim of the present study was to determine the excitation frequency dependence and the changes during the cardiac cycle of anisotropic myocardial electrical resistivity. Longitudinal and transverse myocardial resistivity were measured using an epicardial sensor in four open-chest dogs with excitation frequencies in the range of 5-60 kHz. Mean longitudinal resistivity gradually decreased from 313 +/- 49 omega.cm at 5 kHz to 212 +/- 32 omega.cm at 60 kHz, transverse resistivity decreased from 487 +/- 49 to 378 +/- 53 omega.cm. To analyze the phasic changes, we compared mean resistivity (averaged over the full cardiac cycle) with resistivity during four cardiac phases: pre-ejection, ejection, early diastole and late diastole. Longitudinal resistivity was significantly higher during the ejection phase (+9.6 +/- 4.1 omega.cm) and lower during late diastole (-6.9 +/- 2.9 omega.cm). Transverse resistivity was significantly higher during late diastole (+4.0 +/- 2.3 omega.m). The values during the other cardiac phases were not significantly different from mean resistivity. The phasic changes in longitudinal and transverse resistivity during the cardiac cycle were independent of the excitation frequency. We speculate that these changes are related to geometrical changes, especially to changes in myocardial blood volume.