Adaptive cardiac arrhythmia control: what are the prospects?

The field of nonlinear dynamics has made important contributions towards a mechanistic understanding of cardiac arrhythmias. In recent years, many of these advancements have been in the area of controlling cardiac electrophysiological dynamics. Initial results in the control of temporal arrhythmia dynamics have been promising. However, more recent studies suggest that extending such methods to the control of realistic spatiotemporal dynamics, as would be required to control lethal cardiac arrhythmias, may be difficult. Here we discuss the current state of the art and the prospects for future progress in this area.