Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Arrhythmia is the major cause of death in patients with heart failure, for which β-adrenergic receptor blockers are a mainstay therapy. But the role of β-adrenergic signaling in electrophysiology and arrhythmias has never been studied in human ventricles.Methods and results
We used optical imaging of action potentials and [Ca(2+)]i transients to compare the β1- and β2-adrenergic responses in left ventricular wedge preparations of human donor and failing hearts. β1-Stimulation significantly increased conduction velocity, shortened action potential duration, and [Ca(2+)]i transients duration (CaD) in donor but not in failing hearts, because of desensitization of β1-adrenergic receptor in heart failure. In contrast, β2-stimulation increased conduction velocity in bo
SUBMITTER: Lang D
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4608687 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature