PhD defence M.S. (Matthijs) van Schie

Brief summary of the doctoral thesis:

Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia worldwide. One of the possible treatments for atrial fibrillation is deliberately damaging the heart tissue at certain locations. These locations can be identified through electrophysiological examination. This approach has significantly improved in recent years, but remains a challenge, especially with persistent forms of atrial fibrillation. This is partly because we still do not fully understand how atrial fibrillation originates and progresses. This doctoral research investigated the electrical properties of heart tissue and devised new methods to examine these properties and quantify them. These measurements were then compared within and between patients who have or have not experienced atrial fibrillation previously. The properties that best illustrate these differences can be used to identify patients who are at higher risk of developing or progression of atrial fibrillation. The first part of this doctoral research focuses on how and which properties of electrical signals measured directly on the heart tissue can best be quantified. The second part investigates the differences in the spread of activation waves in diseased heart tissue. The third part looks at atrial fibrillation that occurs after heart surgery. Finally, the fourth part of this doctoral research examines the use of electrical properties and the conduct of electrical measurements during heart surgeries.