The maintenance of arterial blood pressure and the distribution of blood flow to the various organs of the body depends on the control of the pumping action of the heart and of the resistance of the vascular beds in the individual organs in accordance with their metabolic needs. These controls are achieved through the integrated actions of circulat ing hormones, humoral factors that are synthesized and released in the heart and blood vessels, and the autonomic nervous system. The heart, however, is not only the target for the direct and indirect actions of a number of hormones and humoral factors, it is also an endocrine organ in the traditional sense, synthesizing and secreting into the circulation chemical factors that act at distant sites. In this treatise, Hormones and the Heart in Health and Disease, we interpret "endocrinology" broadly and consider traditional hormones as well as autocoids that are secreted by the heart or that act on it. In this overview, the relevant chapters are indicated in parentheses. The discovery of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP; atrial natriuretic factor, ANF) in the 1980s indicated that the heart does indeed function as an endocrine organ in the classic sense. ANP (Chapter I) is synthesized in the heart and secreted into the circulation for actions on the kidney, where it is a potent natriuretic agent, and on the vasculature, where it causes vasodilation. ANP can also affect myocardial contractility.

Klappentext

Leonard Share and a panel of distinguished clinicians and investigators critically review what is known about the effects of endogenous hormones and other chemical agents that act upon and/or are secreted by the heart. Among the humoral factors reviewed in depth are ANP, adrenomedullin, urocortin, vasopressin, and insulin, as well as the autocoids, endothelin, nitric oxide, estrogen, and the eicosanoids. Also illuminated are the roles played by the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, by the autonomic nervous system, and by the kallikrein-kinin system in the functioning of the heart. Offers physiologists, pharmacologists, and academic cardiologists powerful insights into the hormonal factors that modulate cardiac performance in health and disease. Contributing substantially to our understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of the heart, this important book is certain to serve as the new standard reference for all those involved in basic and clinical cardiovascular studies as well as in developing today's novel cardiotherapeutics.

Inhalt
1 Natriuretic Peptides and the Heart.- 2 Adrenomedullin and the Heart.- 3 Cardiac and Vascular Actions of Urocortin.- 4 The Renin-Angiotensin System and the Heart.- 5 Adrenocortical Hormones and the Heart: A Steroidogenic Endocrine Organ as Well as Target Organ?.- 6 Catecholamines and the Heart.- 7 Vasopressin and the Heart.- 8 Insulin and the Heart.- 9 Kinins in the Heart.- 10 Endothelin and the Heart.- 11 Nitric Oxide and the Heart.- 12 Contribution of Eicosanoids in the Heart.- 13 Estrogen and the Heart.- 14 Androgen and Estrogen Effects on Plasma Lipids in Men.