Commotio Cordis

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. 2007 Oct 22;7(4):235–245.

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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Laboratory and study design for the commotio cordis model. An anesthetized and intubated animal is positioned prone in a sling. Under echocardiographic guidance, a ball affixed to an aluminum shaft is impacted on the chest directly over the base of the left ventricle. An electrophysiologic stimulator triggered from the surface electrocardiogram is used to gate impacts to the cardiac cycle. A chronograph measures the impact velocity. Reprinted with permission from: Link MS, Wang PJ, VanderBrink BA, et al. Selective activation of the K(+)(ATP) channel is a mechanism by which sudden death is produced by low-energy chest-wall impact (Commotio cordis). Circulation 1999;100(4):413-8. Copyright © (1999), The American Heart Association.

Figure 2.