Discontinuous Conduction of the Heart

Preface; Section I: Normal Cardiac Conduction: Introduction; 1. Discontinuous Cardiac Conduction: Its Origin in Cellular Connectivity With Long-Term Adaptive Changes That Cause Arrhythmias; 2. Gap Junction Channels and Cardiac Conduction; 3. Nonjunctional Channels of Cardiac Cells and Metabolic Oscillations as Contributors to Discontinuous Conduction; Section II: Discontinuous Conduction and Arrhythmias: Introduction: 4. Gap Junction Structure, Conduction, and Arrhythmogenesis: Directions for Future Research; 5. Role of Discontinuous Electrical Propagation in Clinical Atrial Arrhythmias: Current Evidence and Future Directions; 6. Role of Discontinuous Conduction/Nonuniform Anisotropy in Clinical Arrhythmias; Section III: Gating and Modulation of Gap Junctions: Introduction: 7. Structure of Cardiac Gap Junction Membrane Channels: Progress Toward a Higher-Resolution Model; 8. Major Cell Biological Issues and Strategies in Discontinuous Conduction; 9. Molecular Analysis of the pH Regulation of the Cardiac Gap Junction Protein Connexin43; 10. Triggered Propagated Contractions and Arrhythmias Caused by Acute Damage to Cardiac Muscle; 11. Microscopic Conduction in Cell Cultures Assessed by High-Resolution Optical Mapping and Computer Simulation; Section IV: Waves and Arrhythmias: Introduction: 12. Scale of Geometric Structures Responsible for Discontinuous Propagation in Myocardial Tissue; 13. Wave-Front Curvature Leads to Slow Conduction and Block in Two-Dimensional Cardiac Muscle; 14. Antiarrhythmic and Proarrhythmic Mechanisms in Cardiac Tissue: Linking Spiral Waves, Reentrant Arrhythmias, and Electrocardiographic Patterns; Section V: Junctional Channels and Molecular Genetics: Introduction: 15. Molecular and Biochemical Regulation of Connexins: Potential Targets for Modulation of Cardiac Intercellular Communication; 16. Can We Learn About Conduction by Use of Genetic Approaches? Section VI: Discontinuous Conduction in Myocardial Ischemia: Introduction: 17. Characteristics and Causes of Conduction Changes Associated With 1a and 1b Arrhythmias in Acute Ischemia; 18. Discontinuous Conduction in the Epicardial Border Zone of Infarcted Hearts and Its Role in Anisotropic Reentry; 19. Is There a Pharmacology for Discontinuous Conduction? Section VII: Contemporary Model Studies of Discontinuous Conduction: Introduction: 20. Discontinous Conduction in the AV Junctional Area; 21. Experimental Simulations of Variations in Junctional Conductance; 22. Membrane Factors and Gap Junction Factors as Determinants of Ventricular Conduction and Reentry; Perspectives and Future Directions: Arrhythmias and Discontinuous Conduction; Index