Mechanisms of myocardial ischemia

Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy
A Maseri

Abstract

The very first presentation of ischemic heart disease--acute infarction, sudden death, or unstable angina--most often occurs abruptly. The first approximation that it occurs as a random event only when a certain "threshold severity" of coronary atherosclerosis has gradually developed, although widely accepted, should perhaps be reconsidered and expanded on the basis of the following considerations. Acute coronary occlusion leading to myocardial infarction often occurs at the site of mild or noncritical coronary stenoses. Conversely, in patients with chronic angina severe coronary stenoses can remain unchanged for years with no detectable progression. When a coronary artery occludes, the size of infarction can vary greatly, and when ischemia and infarction occur, malignant arrhythmias occur in some patients but not in others. Thus, in a second approximation, ischemic heart disease should be considered as the result of the variable combination of three major components: a) A very variable chronic atherosclerotic background, which can result from a variety of pathologic processes; b) A number of acute ischemic stimuli, which can unpredictably impair myocardial blood flow as a result of coronary thrombosis and/or vasoconstriction; ...Continue Reading

References

Jun 1, 1988·Circulation·V FusterJ Chesebro
Jan 1, 1988·European Heart Journal·D HackettA Maseri
Feb 1, 1986·Circulation·A MaseriG Davies
Jul 1, 1986·Journal of the American College of Cardiology·J T WillersonL M Buja
May 1, 1983·Arteriosclerosis : an Official Journal of the American Heart Association, Inc·L A Solberg, J P Strong

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jul 20, 2007·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Huixia LuYihai Cao
Feb 27, 2018·Pharmacological Reports : PR·Magdalena A ZabielskaRyszard T Smolenski
Nov 5, 2020·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Paolo SeverinoFrancesco Fedele

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly due to stroke and thromboembolism. Here is the latest research.

Arrhythmia

Arrhythmias are abnormalities in heart rhythms, which can be either too fast or too slow. They can result from abnormalities of the initiation of an impulse or impulse conduction or a combination of both. Here is the latest research on arrhythmias.

Brain Ischemia

Brain ischemia is a condition in which there is insufficient blood flow to the brain to meet metabolic demand. Discover the latest research on brain ischemia here.