Cardiac Mechano-Electric Coupling: Acute Effects of Mechanical Stimulation on Heart Rate and Rhythm

The heart is vital for biological function in almost all chordates, including humans. It beats continually throughout our life, supplying the body with oxygen and nutrients while removing waste products. If it stops, so does life. The heartbeat involves precise coordination of the activity of billio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physiological reviews 2021-01, Vol.101 (1), p.37-92
Main Authors: Quinn, T Alexander, Kohl, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute effects
Animals
Arrhythmias, Cardiac - physiopathology
Biological Clocks
Cardiac muscle
Computer applications
Gene expression
Heart - physiology
Heart rate
Heart Rate - physiology
Humans
Mechanical properties
Mechanical stimuli
Myocardium - cytology
Myocytes, Cardiac - physiology
Nutrients
Physical Stimulation
Structure-function relationships
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Summary:The heart is vital for biological function in almost all chordates, including humans. It beats continually throughout our life, supplying the body with oxygen and nutrients while removing waste products. If it stops, so does life. The heartbeat involves precise coordination of the activity of billions of individual cells, as well as their swift and well-coordinated adaption to changes in physiological demand. Much of the vital control of cardiac function occurs at the level of individual cardiac muscle cells, including acute beat-by-beat feedback from the local mechanical environment to electrical activity (as opposed to longer term changes in gene expression and functional or structural remodeling). This process is known as mechano-electric coupling (MEC). In the current review, we present evidence for, and implications of, MEC in health and disease in human; summarize our understanding of MEC effects gained from whole animal, organ, tissue, and cell studies; identify potential molecular mediators of MEC responses; and demonstrate the power of computational modeling in developing a more comprehensive understanding of ‟what makes the heart tick.ˮ.
ISSN:0031-9333
1522-1210
DOI:10.1152/physrev.00036.2019