A pioneering new study is set to help surgeons repair hearts without damaging any precious tissue.
Scientists from England and Denmark have developed a way of producing 3D data to show the cardiac conduction system in unprecedented detail. The study gives them a more accurate framework than previously available and should improve the ability to make sense of troublesome heart rhythms, such as atrial fibrillation, which affects 1.4 million people in the UK.
The data reveal exactly where the cardiac conduction system is in a normal heart. For example, it shows just how close it runs to the aortic valve.
Author Professor Jonathan Jarvis said: “The 3D data make it much easier to understand the complex relationships between the cardiac conduction system and the rest of the heart.”