Cardiac fiber orientation in goat measured with Diffusion Tensor Imaging

We therefore hypothesize that fiber reorientation could be a local adaptive mechanism by which the strain distribution across the cardiac wall is homogenized. To test this hypothesis we measured fiber orientation in normal goat hearts and in goat hearts in which the mechanical load was locally distributed of an infarction. Diffusion Tensor Imaging was used to measure fiber orientation in voxels of 0.4 x 0.4 x 3.0 mm3. Preliminary results of measurements after 10 weeks infarction reveal a disturbance of this characteristic pattern. [In English

A model approach to the adaptation of cardiac structure by mechanical feedback in the environment of the cell

The uniformity of the mechanical load of the cardiac fibers in the wall is maintained by continuous remodeling. In this proposed model the myocyte changes direction in optimizing systolic sarcomere shortening. Early systolic stretch and contractility increases the mass of contractile proteins. Cyclic strain of the myocardial tissue diminishes passive stiffness, resulting in the control of ventricular end-diastolic volume. Utilizing these rules of remodeling in our mathematical model yields that the natural helical pathways of the myocardial fibers in the wall are formed automaticall