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Length-dependent tension in the failing heart and the efficacy of cardiac resynchronization therapy

This paper demonstrates the first patient-specific electromechanics model extending concepts developed in animal studies to study pathological human cases. The paper describes the development of a patient-specific model combining MRI, pressure catheter, ECG and endocardial activation maps into a single physically consistent representation of the patient’s heart. Essential to the physiological function of the heart is the increased contraction of muscle when it is stretched. The model demonstrated that the absence or attenuation of this mechanism significantly improves the capacity of a patient to respond to cardiac resynchronization therapy, linking specific subcellular properties to a clinical response.