New Research on the Deadly Heart Rhythm Disorder

Do you know that every year more than 300,000 people in the US die from a rare disorder know as Deadly Heart Rhythm Disorder? New research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, may shed some light on this rare disorder.

The disorder is characterized by sudden death and affects young and old people unexpectedly without any warning sign. Sudden and strong electrical activity in the heart muscle. The heart just stops working

The heart rhythm disturbance that causes most sudden cardiac deaths is called ventricular fibrillation (VF). Ventricular fibrillation is poorly understood.

The new study seems to shed new insight on the origins of VF. Although the work was done on animal models (mice) this research is yielding important clues that could be applied to humans.

The new study was made by researchers from the United States, Canada and Spain. And it was led by José Jalife, M.D. According to the report VF is described as a hurricane or tornado that disrupts the regular rhythm of the heart's electrical activity.

According to the new study these electrical waves organize into spiral vortices when an experiencing VF. The vortices disrupt the regular heart synchronization needed to pump blood throughout the body.

Also, the frequency of the VF activity can be described or explained by using a formula that is related to body mass. Dr. Jalife and colleagues utilized sophisticated imaging techniques developed by the group.

Although this is an advance in understanding this rare syndrome many questions remain unanswered with on VF and sudden cardiac death. By using optical, fluorescent dyes, and special video cameras they plan to follow the movement within the surface membrane of cells in real time.

They will also study membrane ion channels of the heart cells because they believe there is a connection between these special proteins and VF and sudden cardiac death.