Which hypothesis suggests that multiple wavelets collide and create daughter wavelets to sustain AF?

The multiple wave reentry hypothesis is a critical concept in understanding the mechanism of atrial fibrillation (AF). This hypothesis posits that AF is sustained by the presence of multiple reentrant wavelets within the atrial tissue. As wavelets propagate through the atrial myocardium, they can interact with each other, leading to collisions that produce new, or "daughter," wavelets. This interaction creates a chaotic electrical environment that ultimately sustains the fibrillatory activity characteristic of atrial fibrillation.

In this framework, each wavelet can potentially start a new wavefront, perpetuating the irregular electrical activity necessary for AF to continue. The dynamics of how these wavelets collide and generate daughter wavelets contribute to the nature of AF as a complex arrhythmia with multiple areas of electrical activity, rather than originating from a single site of abnormal electrical discharge.

By contrast, the localized source hypothesis focuses on the idea that singular sites, often related to anatomical structures, may act as the primary sources of arrhythmia. The non-PV triggers hypothesis emphasizes triggers outside the pulmonary veins causing AF, while the focal tachycardia hypothesis centers on discrete foci generating rapid atrial contraction. Each of these alternative theories does not encapsulate the dynamic interplay of