Whole-heart ventricular arrhythmia modeling moving forward: Mechanistic insights and translational applications

Abstract

Ventricular arrhythmias are the primary cause of sudden cardiac death and one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Whole-heart computational modeling offers a unique approach for studying ventricular arrhythmias, offering vast potential for developing both a mechanistic understanding of ventricular arrhythmias and clinical applications for treatment. In this review, the fundamentals of whole-heart ventricular modeling and current methods of personalizing models using clinical data are presented. From this foundation, the authors summarize recent advances in whole-heart ventricular arrhythmia modeling. Efforts in gaining mechanistic insights into ventricular arrhythmias are discussed, in addition to other applications of models such as the assessment of novel therapeutics. The review emphasizes the unique benefits of computational modeling that allow for insights that are not obtainable by contemporary experimental or clinical means. Additionally, the clinical impact of modeling is explored, demonstrating how patient care is influenced by the information gained from ventricular arrhythmia models. The authors conclude with future perspectives about the direction of whole-heart ventricular arrhythmia modeling, outlining how advances in neural network methodologies hold the potential to reduce computational expense and permit for efficient whole-heart modeling.

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