Random effects inducing heart pathological dynamics: An approach based on mathematical models

Abstract

This work deals with an investigation of randomness effects on heart rhythm analysis. A mathematical model composed by three-coupled nonlinear oscillators coupled by time-delayed connections is employed for this aim. In this regard, heart rhythm is governed by delayed-differential equations. Nondeterministic aspects are incorporated considering random connections among oscillators. The main idea is to show that nonlinearities and randomness define together the great variety of possibilities in the heart dynamical system. In general, results corroborate that the model is able to capture the main behaviors of the cardiac system showing that pathological behaviors can evolve from normal rhythms due to random couplings. Experimental data corroborate this argues pointing that nonlinear dynamical analysis is useful for a proper physiological comprehension.

Keywords: Cardiac rhythms; Chaos; DDEs; Heart; Nonlinear dynamics; Poincaré maps; Random.