Sudden cardiac death accounts for more than half of all cardiovascular deaths in the US,
and a large proportion of these deaths are attributed to ischemia-induced ventricular
fibrillation. As such, the mechanisms underlying the initiation and maintenance of these
lethal rhythms are of significant clinical and scientific interest. In large animal hearts,
regional ischemia induces two phases of ventricular arrhythmia. The first phase (1A) occurs
between 5 and 7 min after arrest of perfusion. This phase is associated with membrane …