Effect of 2,3 butanedione monoxime(BDM) on ventricular fibrillation

Optical mapping is commonly used to study ventricular fibrillation (VF). Electro-contractile uncouplers like 2,3 Butanedione Monoxime (BDM) are used in these studies to stop the mechanical activity, under the assumption that they do not have an effect on the electrical activity. Our objective is to test this assumption. Male guinea pigs were used in this study. The Animals were anaesthetized and median sternotomy and pericardiectomy were performed to expose the heart. An Intracardiac injection of BDM was administered and VF was induced. Epicardial unipolar recordings were made for 4s using an electrode array along with a video recording of the heart. The procedure was repeated for saline and control. Quantitative analysis of the data was performed using autocorrelation analysis. BDM significantly decreases the mechanical activity of the heart and increased the level of temporal organization during VF.