When someone has a heart attack, part of the heart muscle loses its blood supply and becomes damaged. The body repairs this injury by replacing the dead muscle with scar tissue.
Although this helps the heart heal, the scar cannot contract like healthy muscle and can interfere with the electrical signals that control each heartbeat.
These electrical problems can lead to arrhythmias, which are abnormal heart rhythms. Some arrhythmias are harmless, but others can cause fainting, heart failure, or even sudden cardiac death. Doctors have long wanted better ways to understand exactly how scar tissue changes the heart’s electrical system.
A team of researchers at George Washington University has now developed a powerful imaging technology that may provide new answers. Their work was published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics. The new system allows scientists to see both the structure of the heart and its electrical activity at the same time.
Previous imaging methods usually focused on only one part of the picture. Some could show how electrical signals moved through the heart, while others could identify damaged tissue. The new approach combines both types of information into one detailed map covering the entire surface of the heart.
The researchers built a platform using six cameras that recorded the heart from different directions. High-speed cameras tracked electrical signals with a special fluorescent dye, while other cameras identified tissue types and created a three-dimensional image of the heart. Computer software then combined all of this information into one complete model.
To test the system, the scientists studied rat hearts several weeks after an experimental heart attack. The hearts were kept alive in the laboratory using a special circulation system while the imaging equipment recorded their activity.
The new technique clearly identified scar tissue because it produced a stronger light signal from collagen, a protein that builds up during healing. The system could also identify healthy heart muscle and the border area where healthy and damaged tissues meet.
The combined images revealed that dangerous electrical signals often began near the edge of the scar rather than inside it. Electrical waves moved quickly around some damaged areas but slowed or stopped when passing through scar tissue. These changes can create the conditions needed for abnormal heart rhythms to develop.
The researchers also discovered that scar tissue behaved differently from healthy muscle during each heartbeat. Electrical activity lasted longer in damaged regions, while the border zone showed properties between healthy and scarred tissue. These findings matched what scientists already know about healing after a heart attack.
The team believes this technology could also help study heart failure, aging, fibrosis, and treatments such as cardiac ablation. By showing exactly how damaged tissue changes the heart’s electrical system, the new imaging method may help researchers design better ways to prevent dangerous arrhythmias in the future.
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Source: George Washington University.
