Author Description

This volume continues the tradition of thoughtful, in-depth examination of critical subjects in the Handbook of Physiology, though the molecular revolution has transformed cardiovascular research from a stable, mature field into one that is exploding with new findings. The 21 chapters were written by outstanding international investigators in the fields of cell structure, muscle contraction and control, and electrophysiology. They cover basic molecular events but highlight the strong relationships to physiological processes that will soon be important in cardiovascular disease. In the discussions of structure, the emphasis is on normal and abnormal growth as well as the dynamic properties of cell communication via gap junctions. Muscle function is explored from actin-myosin molecular interactions to control of intracellular calcium and contraction by its principal transporters. The book shows how cardiac electrophysiology integrates the whole heart from cellular action potentials and conduction to mathematical models. Current concepts of ion channel structure and function and the heterogeneous distribution and expression of these channels are detailed. The heart as a malfunctioning organ is considered in chapters on arrhythmias, ventricular function, and heart failure. The chapters are extensively referenced and focus on the critical questions in basic cardiology for physiologists to address in the future, drawing on the power of molecular studies and the genome map.