Modelling and imaging cardiac repolarization abnormalities

Repolarization abnormalities, including those induced by the congenital or acquired long QT (LQT) syndrome, provide a substrate for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. In this article, we use computational biology to link HERG mutations mechanistically to the resulting abnormalities of the whole-cell action potential. We study how the kinetic properties of I-Ks (the slow delayed rectifier) that are conferred by molecular subunit interactions, facilitate its role in repolarization and 'repolarization reserve. A new noninvasive imaging modality (electrocardiographic imaging) is shown to image cardiac repolarization on the epicardial surface. suggesting its possible role in risk stratification. diagnosis and treatment of LQT syndrome.