characteristic. Bamberger’ nearly a century ago pointed out that cardiac enlargement is found in many patients suffering from anemia. The extent to which the functional activity of the cardiovascular apparatus is affected by anemia, however, is not so generally appreciated. Changes in the heart and circulation develop in part in response to needs arising from the lack of hemoglobin and thus of ...

T he progressive aging of the population is a phenomenon of our era. Aging is characterized by a progressive organ dysfunction that complicates the maintenance of homeostasis. However, there is no universal definition of senility. Physiological changes occurring with aging do not appear at any definite time. The majority of definitions of aging are based on calendar age. The World Health Organi...

General considerations: The heart is the first organ to form in the embryo. In mammalians and birds it consists of 4 chambers (2 atria and 2 ventricles). The heart functions to maintain adequate blood flow (cardiac output) with the purpose of delivering oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and the removal of waste metabolic products. The systemic circulation returns non-oxygenated blood to the r...

L-arginine is a basic endogenous amino acid. Its significant metabolic role as the product of ammonia detoxification, the urea cycle metabolite, the precursor of proteins, ornithine, urea and creatinine, and the amino acid involved in the formation of active enzyme centers was very well established. The current interest in this amino acid refers mainly to its close relation with an important si...

There are alarming increases in the incidence of obesity, insulin resistance, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The risk of these diseases is significantly reduced by appropriate lifestyle modifications such as increased physical activity. However, the exact mechanisms by which exercise influences the development and progression of cardiovascular disease are unclear. In this paper w...

characteristic. Bamberger’ nearly a century ago pointed out that cardiac enlargement is found in many patients suffering from anemia. The extent to which the functional activity of the cardiovascular apparatus is affected by anemia, however, is not so generally appreciated. Changes in the heart and circulation develop in part in response to needs arising from the lack of hemoglobin and thus of ...

The development of the modern era of bioengineering and the advances in our understanding of the cardiovascular system have been intertwined over the past one-half century. This is true of bioengineering as an area for research in universities. Bioengineering is ultimately the beginning of a new engineering discipline, as well as a new discipline in the medical device industry.

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a process through which multicellular organisms dispose of cells efficiently. Much has been discovered about the molecular control of apoptosis since its initial description as a series of morphological events. Apoptosis defines a type of cell death distinct from the more conventional necrotic death, seen classically in myocardial infarction, on the basis...

Thyrotoxicosis is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, primarily due to heart failure and thromboembolism. Palpitations, caused by sinus tachycardia and occasionally by atrial fibrillation, are the most frequent cardiovascular symptom. As atrial fibrillation may be the only manifestation of thyrotoxicosis, thyroid hormone excess should routinely be excluded in patie...

Although heavy alcohol consumption has deleterious effects on heart health, moderate drinking is thought to have cardioprotective effects, reducing the risk of coronary artery disease and improving prognosis after a myocardial infarction. It still is unclear, however, if this effect can be achieved with all types of alcoholic beverages and results from the alcohol itself, from other compounds f...