A recent comprehensive study of stress and human health by the Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Sciences concludes that individuals who experience any of a wide range of stressful events or situations are at increased risk of developing a physical or mental disorder, including heart disease. Since cardiovascular disease continues to be a leading cause of illness and death, and since the etiology and pathogenesis of several of the commonest forms of heart disease are incompletely known, it is of fundamental impor tance to study the potential role of stress in the genesis of heart disease. Accordingly an International Symposium on Stress and Heart Disease was held in Winnipeg, Canada, June 26-29, 1984 and the proceedings form the basis of this book and its companion volume, "Stress and Heart Disease". The connection between stress (the behavioral sciences) and heart disease (the biomedical sciences) occurs in the mechanisms through which the brain affects or controls the endocrine and the autonomic nervous systems. Initially this linkage appeared to be relatively simple, mainly involving catecholamines and corticosteroids, and communication between nerve cells was thought to be electrical. Now knowledge has increased and concepts have change dramatic ally. Major advances have occurred in biochemical, anatomical, physiological, pharmacological, pathological and behavioral aspects of the neuroendocrine system. The over whelming significance of chemical communication in the nli xviii nervous system has become clear.

Zusammenfassung
Proceedings of the International Symposium on Stress and Heart Disease, June 26-29, 1984, Winnipeg, Canada

Inhalt
A. Adrenergic Mechanisms and Heart Disease.- 1. Heart Adrenergic System Activity in Rats during Adaptation to Repeated Stress.- 2. Interaction of Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Systems under Stress.- 3. Hamster Cardiomyopathy: A Genetically-Transmitted Sympathetic Dystrophy?.- 4. Site of Action of some Beta Adrenergic Blockers on Cardiac Contractile Activity in the Absence or Presence of Epinephrine.- 5. Modification of the Beta Adrenergic Mechanisms in Myocardium by Divalent Cations.- 6. Beta-Adrenoceptor Adenylate Cyclase System in Pig Myocardium with Stress Induced by Aortic Banding.- 7. Responsiveness of Hypertrophied Rat Heart to Digitalis. In Vivo and In Vitro Studies.- B. Catecholamines and Functional Changes.- 8. Acute Ventricular Arrhythmias in Myocardial Infarction An Example of Catecholamine-Mediated Stress?.- 9. Arrhythmogenic Effects of Alpha and Beta Adrenergic Amines.- 10. Interaction of Epinephrine and Reduced Extracellular Potassium may Mediate Stress-Induced Vulnerability to Fibrillation in Mammalian Heart.- 11. Sarcolemmal Alterations during Catecholamine Induced Cardiomyopathy.- 12. Stress-Induced Molecular Changes in Cardiac Sarcolemma during Coronary Artery Ligation.- 13. Ventricular Myocardium as a Fast-or Slow-Type Muscle. The Influence of Stressors and the Preventive Action of Intense Exercise.- 14. Effects of Adrenergic and Ischemic Stresses on Mechanical Efficiency of the Canine Heart.- 15. Hormone-Induced Changes in Response to Drugs Affecting Cardiac Function and Metabolism.- 16. Plasma Catecholamine Variations in Physiologically Reactive and Nonreactive Individuals to Cold Pressor Test.- 17. The Effect of Some Calcium-Channel Blocking Drugs on the Endogenous Catecholamine Content of Various Organs of the Rat.- C.Catecholamines-Induced Cell Damage.- 18. Role of Catecholamines in Stress-Induced Heart Disease.- 19. Involvement of Catecholamines in the Development of Myocardial Cell Damage.- 20. Morphological Correlates of Catecholamine-Induced Heart Cell Damage.- 21. The Contribution of the Alpha Adrenoceptor System to the Pathogenesis of Norepinephrine Cardiomyopathy.- 22. Noradrenaline Induced Myocardiopathy in Normal and Hypercholesterolaemic Rhesus Monkeys.- 23. Lysosomal Changes during the Development of Catecholamine-Induced Cardiomyopathy.- 24. The Adrenochrome Pathway: Its Potential Significance in Stress Induced Heart Disease.- D. Prostaglandins and Heart Disease.- 25. Thromboxane A2 and Prostaglandin I2 as Precipitating Factors of Vasospastic and Thrombotic Events in Coronary Artery Disease.- 26. Role of Thromboxane A2 in Coronary Vascular Disorders.- 27. Prostaglandins as Key Modulators of Reperfusion-Induced Cardiac Injury. Initial Studies into Possible Mechanisms.- 28. Prostaglandin Endoperoxide Metabolism by the Human Carotid Artery.- 29. Modulation of Coronary Arterial Prostacyclin Synthetase Activity.- E. Lipids and Heart Disease.- 30. Alterations in Fatty Acid Composition of Phospholipids in Heart Muscle Induced by Various Forms of Stress.- 31. Effect of Stress Hormones on (Phospho) Lipase Activity of Vascular Endothelial Plasmamembranes; a Role in the Initiation of Atherosclerosis.- 32. A Histochemical Study of Long Term Changes in Myocardial Lipid Distribution Induced by Isoproterenol.- 33. Effects of Lysophosphatidylcholine on the Electrical and Mechanical Activity of Perfused Rat Heart.- 34. Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolism of the Heart and Liver in Rabbits under Hypokinetic Stress.- 35. Lipid Analysis of Aortic Tissue from Alloxan-Diabetic Rats.- 36. Depression of Glucose Transport in the Myocardium by Elevated Fatty Acids: Regulatory Feedback Affected by Stress.