Multiple spiral patterns in a cardiac tissue

Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is the major cause of sudden cardiac death, the leading cause of death in the industrialized world. However, the mechanisms for its onset are still not well understood. Recent experiments indicate that VF is induced by transitions of cardiac electric propagationg waves from a single spiral wave to multiple waves. To further understand the underlying mechanism of VF, we investigated the interaction between two waves in a two-dimensional excitable media. Three types of multiple spirals including multi-arm spirals have been found depending on the rotation direction and the distance among spiral waves.