This study presents computations and analysis of the dynamics of reentrant spiral waves in a
realistic model of cardiac electrical activity, incorporating the Beeler–Reuter equations into a
two‐dimensional cable model. In this medium, spiral waves spontaneously break up, but
may be stabilized by shortening the excitation pulse duration through an acceleration of the
dynamics of the calcium current. We describe the breakup of reentrant waves based on the
presence of slow recovery fronts within the medium. This concept is introduced using …