Hartographers

Hartographers are practitioners who create maps of the heart’s structure, function, and its role in human experience by integrating imaging, electrophysiology, and data visualization. Clinically, hartography refers to three-dimensional maps of cardiac chambers, conduction pathways, and scar tissue used to guide procedures and diagnose disease. In humanities and design, the term is used metaphorically for studies of how the heart figures in emotion, culture, and behavior.

The term is not standardized and appears across disciplines that mix medicine, visualization, and the arts. It derives from heart-related study and -graphy, signaling an emphasis on spatial representation of cardiac phenomena.

Common methods include electroanatomic mapping systems for electrophysiology, high-resolution MRI and CT, echocardiography, and computational modeling. Data are fused to produce patient-specific maps of anatomy, electrical activity, perfusion, and tissue characterization. Nonclinical work uses qualitative mapping and visual analytics to explore heart-centered narratives.

Applications range from planning ablation and device implantation to research into heart-brain interactions and autonomic regulation. In cultural contexts, hartography informs discussions about how people relate to the heart in memory, place, and art.

Education and professional landscape are interdisciplinary, drawing from cardiology, radiology, biomedical engineering, computer science, and the humanities. There is no single credential for hartographers, and practice tends to occur within broader cardiac imaging, electrophysiology, and digital humanities programs.

Related topics include cardiology, medical imaging, electrophysiology, and emotional cartography.