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The sympathetic nervous system and heart failure.
Cardiol Clin. 2014 Feb;32(1):33-45
Authors: Zhang DY, Anderson AS
Abstract
Heart failure (HF) is a syndrome characterized by upregulation of the sympathetic nervous system and abnormal responsiveness of the parasympathetic nervous system. Studies in the 1980s and 1990s demonstrated that inhibition of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors improved symptoms and mortality in HF resulting from systolic dysfunction, thus providing a framework to consider the use of β-blockers for HF therapy, contrary to the prevailing wisdom of the time. Against this backdrop, this article reviews the contemporary understanding of the sympathetic nervous system and the failing heart.
PMID: 24286577 [PubMed - in process]