he sympathetic nervous system of the heart is critically involved in the maintenance of cardiovascular homoeostasis by regulating cardiac contractility, conduction, heart frequency and peripheral vasoconstriction.1 It has been shown that a dysfunctional cardiac sympathetic nervous system exerts detrimental effects on the structural and functional integrity of the myocardium, leading to a marked...

The diagnosis and management of cardiac arrhythmias has progressed rapidly as a science. Advances in the ability to diagnose and either suppress or eliminate arrhythmic substrates has taken an exponential trajectory. Whether utilizing three-dimensional electroanatomic mapping systems for examining complex arrhythmias in patients with palliated congenital heart disease or genetic analysis in a s...

Hemochromatosis is a clinical syndrome caused by abnormal accumulation of iron in parenchymal organs leading to organ toxicity and dysfunction. Cardiac hemochromatosis is a cardiomyopathy due to primary iron-overload cardiomyopathy which causes congestive heart failure. Patients with cardiac hemochromatosis may be asymptomatic early in the disease. Once heart failure develops, there is rapid de...

Background The impulse-conducting system that coordinates the cardiac cycle requires a well-orchestrated interplay of its multiple heterogeneous components for synchronous and reliable contractions [1]. Thus, detailed insight into the anatomy of the conduction system would be of great significance to understand the cardiac performance arising from electro-mechanical activity [2,3]. To date, the...

Cardiac involvement is one of the most significant factors in the poor clinical outcome of polymyositis. The case of a 39 year old African American woman with polymyositis, cardiomyopathy, and severe heart failure who had orthotopic heart transplantation is described. Review of the literature reveals that cardiac manifestations of polymyositis are frequent and include conduction system abnormal...

Our approach to implanting cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices combines an understanding of the anatomy of the failing heart and the coronary veins, standard pacing lead insertion skills, and techniques common to diagnostic cardiac catheterization and interventional cardiology. The method we have devised over the past 5 years has provided CRT safely and effectively to a large volume...

The transient receptor potential (TRP) family of ion channels is a large family of cation selective ion channels, which are expressed and functional in a variety of tissues. In this review we focus on the most recent results detailing the role of TRP channels in the cardiovascular system. The presented results underscore the role of TRP channels in cardiomyocytes, smooth cells and endothelium, ...

OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to investigate the genotype-to-phenotype relationship between SCN5A gene mutation and progressive cardiac conduction defect in order to gain insights into the pathophysiologic mechanisms of the disease. BACKGROUND Progressive cardiac conduction defect is a frequent disease commonly attributed to degeneration and fibrosis of the His bundle and its branches...

Myotonic muscular dystrophy (MMD) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder that can complicate anesthetic management of patients. MMD is characterized by progressively worsening muscle loss and weakness, cardiac conduction abnormalities, cardiomyopathy, restrictive lung disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and delayed gastric emptying. Patients presenting with MMD for any surgical procedure present a...