Numerical Simulation of Electromechanical Dynamics in Paced Cardiac Tissue

We study electromechanical dynamics in paced cardiac tissue using numerical simulations of a mathematical model that accounts for excitation-contraction coupling as well as mechanoelectrical feedback. A previously developed finite element based parallel platform is adopted. Extensive numerical simulations are carried out on a 2d tissue and a 3d tissue to investigate the influences of various parameters on the stability of propagating cardiac waves, including conduction velocity, pathological scars, contraction, and stretch activated channels.