Professor Alfio Quarteroni was present at the event that annually brings together the best clinicians and experts on heart disease in the Piedmontese and Lombard territories. The conference examined the state of the art of research on the most frequent cardiac pathologies and on advances relative to therapeutic and surgical approaches.
Particularly interesting was the presentation of Dr. Antonio Colombo, head of the Unit of Interventional Cardiology and Hematodynamics of the San Raffaele Hospital, which focused on the tricuspid valve, in the past often neglected in research addresses, but for which today there are new techniques of advanced intervention. Dr. Colombo also stressed the urgent need to create treatment centers for those presenting these diseases at a congenital level and should therefore be followed throughout their lives.
Professor Quarteroni’s presentation covered arrhythmias, which occur when the electrical impulse of the heart is transmitted abnormally. In particular, he wanted to suggest alternative research paths to the standard ones in the clinical field. “Even in this field of medicine we find the use of mathematics, for example to analyze waves and electrical impulses”, Quarteroni commented. With the help of some specific examples, he clarified that mathematics and numerical models can already provide an important contribution to the clinical field. The first example concerned electrophysiology and arrhythmology: Professor Quarteroni spoke of atrial arrhythmia and showed the impact of some non-physiological stresses, located at the level of the pulmonary alveoli. The model used allowed to observe how these situations of improper electrical stimulation cause a very critical wave perturbation.
The second example involved the simulation of a necrotic area in a patient’s ventricle. Professor Quarteroni then showed how the ventricle deforms (contracts and releases) in an improper manner. The capacity of ejection, or the amount of blood that the heart can expel, is reduced depending on the width of the necrotic area.