Structure-function relationship of atrial fibrillation waves in goat and man

This dissertation has shown by means of a goat model that the behaviour of atrial fibrillation is determined to a large extent by underlying muscle fibres. It was also found that paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in humans is far less complex than long-standing atrial fibrillation, although paroxysmal atrial fibrillation varies considerably in complexity. It was shown that only one particular type of fibrosis is relevant to the behaviour of atrial fibrillation rather than all types of fibrosis as previously assumed. Furthermore, it was shown why a particular type of ablation therapy for atrial fibrillation is less effective. Finally, a new software programme was developed allowing atrial fibrillation to be analysed very quickly.