Background: Myocardial ischemia, caused by insufficient myocardial blood supply, is a leading cause of human death worldwide. Therefore, it is crucial to prioritize the prevention and treatment of this condition. Mathematical modeling is a powerful technique for studying heart diseases.
Objective: The aim of this study was to discuss the quantitative relationship between extracellular potassium concentration and the degree of myocardial ischemia directly related to it.
Methods: A human cardiac electrophysiological multiscale model was developed to calculate action potentials of all cells simultaneously, enhancing efficiency over traditional reaction-diffusion models.
Results: Contrary to the commonly held view that myocardial ischemia is caused by an increase in extracellular potassium concentration, our simulation results indicate that level 1 ischemia is associated with a decrease in extracellular potassium concentration.
Conclusion: This unusual finding provides a new perspective on the mechanisms underlying myocardial ischemia and has the potential to lead to the development of new diagnostic and treatment strategies.
Keywords: Multi-scale model; cardiac electrophysiology; celluar automata; extracellular potassium concentration; myocardial ischemia.