Ionic mechanisms of arrhythmogenesis.

The understanding of ionic mechanisms underlying cardiac rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias) is an issue of significance in the medical science community. Several advances in molecular, cellular, and optical techniques in the past few decades have substantially increased our knowledge of ionic mechanisms that are thought to underlie arrhythmias. The application of these techniques in the study of ion channel biophysics and regulatory properties has provided a wealth of information, with some important therapeutic implications for dealing with the disease. In this review, we briefly consider the cellular and tissue manifestations of a number of cardiac rhythm disturbances, while focusing on our current understanding of the ionic current mechanisms that have been implicated in such rhythm disturbances.