Influence of ischemic and infarcted tissue on the surface potential

The influence of ischemic and infarcted tissue on the body-surface potential was investigated. A cellular automaton was employed for modeling the heart's specialized conduction system, junction points, action potentials, and fiber orientation. The cellular automaton generated a transmembrane potential distribution providing the source distribution for the electrocardiographic forward problem. The body-surface potential was calculated with a bidomain-based forward model of a patient's volume conductor. Several scenarios were simulated including anterior and posterior myocardial infarction. The simulations demonstrated the influence on the body-surface potential displaying ST elevations and depressions as well as changes in polarity depending on the location of the ischemic region and electrode position.