[Drift of vortex in the myocardium].

The behavior of a vortex in rabbit myocardium with artificial inhomogeneity was studied using mapping technique. The inhomogeneity was created by perfusion of a part of the preparation with quinidine solution. Quinidine increased the refractory period of the myocardium and diminished the conduction velocity. It has been found that the vortex drifts along the border of the inhomogeneity because of the difference of refractory periods. The drift velocity was about 4 cm/s, which was five times less than the wave velocity. The direction of the drift was determined by the vector (----omega X----delta R), where ----omega is the angular velocity of vortex rotation, and ----delta R is a gradient of the refractory period.