Computational Models of Eccentric Cardiac Growth
Cardiac dilation is a transversely isotropic, irreversible process resulting from excess strains on the myocardium. A computation model of volumetric, isotropic, and cardiac wall growth predicts the relationship between cardiac strains (e.g. volume overload after myocardial infaction) and dilation using the following governing equations:
where is elastic volume stretch that is reversible and is irreversible, isotropic volume growth described by:
where is a vector, which points along a cardiomyocyte's long axis and is the cardiomyocyte stretch due to growth. The total cardiomyocyte growth is given by:
The above model reveals a gradual dilation of the myocardium, especially the ventricular myocardium, to support the blood volume overload in the chambers. Dilation manifests itself in an increase in total cardiac mass and cardiac diameter. Cardiomyocytes reach their maximum length of 150 m in the endocardium and 130 m in the epicardium by the addition of sarcomeres. Due to the increase in diameter, the dilated heart appears spherical in shape, as opposed the elliptical shape of a healthy human heart. In addition, the ventricular walls maintain the same thickness, characteristic of pathophysiological cardiac dilation.
Read more about this topic: Dilated Cardiomyopathy
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