Physiology and Pharmacology of the Heart

Profusely illustrated, Physiology and Pharmacology of the Heart contains lucid descriptions of the following topics: anatomy of the heart; foetal circulation; congenital malformations; mechanical events in the normal heart; electrical excitations of the heart; mechanical properties of cardiac muscle and its control; measurement of cardiac output; coronary circulation; ischaemic heart disease and its therapy; and cardiac failure and its therapy.

1. Functional Anatomy of the Heart; 2. Mechanical Events During the Cardiac Cycle; 3. The Excitatory Pathway; 4. Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology: Ventricle and Atrium; 5. Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology: Pacemaking and Conducting Tissue; 6. The Electrocardiogram; 7. Arrhythmias: Electrophysiological basis; 8. Antiarrhythmic Drugs 9. Arrhythmias: Clinical considerations; 10. Excitation-Contraction Coupling and Mechanoelectrical Feedback; 11. Functional Aspects of Cardiac Muscle Contraction; 12. The Nervous Control of Heart Rate and Force; 13. Measurement of Cardiac Output; 14. The Cardiac Environment: Effects of Altered Ion Concentrations on the Heart; 15. Coronary Flow and Coronary Thrombosis; 16. Drugs used to Treat Ischaemic Heart Disease; 17. Cardiac Failure; 18. Drugs Used for Cardiac Failure; 19. Molecular Biology of Cardiac Ion Channels; 20. Growing Points in Cardiac Research; Further Reading; Index