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Mechano-Electric Feedback in the Heart: Effects on Heart Rate and Rhythm

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Book cover Heart Rate and Rhythm

Abstract

Cardiac electrical and mechanical activity are closely interrelated not only via the chain of events, commonly referred to as “excitation–contraction coupling” (ECC), that links electrical excitation to contraction, but equally via feedback from the heart’s mechanical environment to the origin and spread of cardiac excitation. The latter has been termed mechano-electric feedback (MEF) and complements ECC to form an intracardiac electro-mechanical regulatory loop. This chapter will review MEF effects on heart rate (HR, number of beats per unit time, usually 1 min) and rhythm (regularity of cardiac contractions), distinguishing between pro- and anti-arrhythmic effects, and elucidate the extent to which stretch-activated ion channels (SAC) may explain observed responses. A concluding section addresses current shortfalls in insight and presents theories regarding the physiological relevance of MEF in the heart.

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Acknowledgement

Work in the authors’ laboratory is supported by the British Heart Foundation, the UK’s Medical Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and by funding from the EU FP6 and FP7 framework programmes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Cardiac Mechano-Electric Feedback Group, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    T. Alexander Quinn

  2. Balliol College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Rebecca A. Bayliss

  3. Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, National Heart and Lung Institute, London, UK

    Peter Kohl

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  1. T. Alexander Quinn
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  2. Rebecca A. Bayliss
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  3. Peter Kohl
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Correspondence to T. Alexander Quinn .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Life Sciences Academy, Usman Enclave 103, Lucknow, 226024, India

    Onkar N. Tripathi

  2. Medizinische Fakultät, Inst. für Pharmakologie u. Toxikologie, TU Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, Dresden, 01307, Germany

    Ursula Ravens

  3. Cardiovascular Research &, Training Inst. (CVRTI), University of Utah, South 2000 East 95, Salt Lake City, 84112-5000, Utah, USA

    Michael C. Sanguinetti

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Quinn, T.A., Bayliss, R.A., Kohl, P. (2011). Mechano-Electric Feedback in the Heart: Effects on Heart Rate and Rhythm. In: Tripathi, O., Ravens, U., Sanguinetti, M. (eds) Heart Rate and Rhythm. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17575-6_7

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