This book provides in depths information on different microscopy approaches and supplies the reader with methods how to untangle highly complex processes involved in physiological and pathophysiological cardiac signaling. Microscopy approaches have established themselves as the quasi gold standard that enables us to appreciate the underlying mechanisms of physiological and pathophysiological cardiac signaling. This book presents the most important microscopy techniques from the level of individual molecule e.g. Förster-Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET), up to cellular and tissue imaging, e.g. electron microscopy (TEM) or light sheet microscopy. The book is intended for graduate students and postdocs in cardiovascular research, imaging and cell biology, pre-clinical and clinical researchers in cardiovascular sciences as well as decision makers of the pharmaceutical industry.

This is the only in-depth, single author survey of heart development. It will provide a more systematic, up-to-date synthesis of the subject than any other volume, spanning the range from classical anatomical studies to recent findings in molecular biology. It also covers topics that are often omitted from discussions of heart development, such as myocardial function, cardiac innervation, and conduction development and clinical correlates will be discussed throughout. The book is beautifully illustrated by Karen Waldo, an artist who has collaborated with Dr. Kirby for many years.

The pacemaking and conduction system (PCS) is vital for generating and synchronizing the heart beat. Dysfunction of this system can be a direct cause of cardiac conduction disturbance, arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. A wealth of information has been collected over many years on the unique histological, morphological and phenotypic characteristics of specialized cardiac tissues. The cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern development of the PCS are now starting to be understood. This book draws together contributions from an international and interdisciplinary group of experts working on both basic and clinical aspects of cardiac development. It features reviews of the structure and function of the developing PCS, discussion of the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating embryological development of this system and studies on the fundamental basis of PCS pathology. The book also considers how novel therapeutic interventions based on understanding of the developmental biology of cardiac pacemaking and conduction tissues might ultimately impact on clinical medicine.

Despite remarkable advances in the understanding and management of impaired left ventricular function (LVF) and related coronary disease, the prevalence of heart failure in the U.S. and the resulting death rates have almost tripled in the past 3 decades. New understanding of the relationships between the myocardium and LVF demonstrate a direct correlation between myocardial viability and improved patient survival. Because of this, myocardial viability is now a major investigative area in contemporary cardiology, one that holds significant clinical and prognostic relevance. Authored by physicians of international renown, the book brings together various disciplines affecting myocardial viability, with five main sections providing an introduction and comprehensive review of: basic concepts and mechanisms; vascular biology and cellular physiology; advances in functional imaging; and perfusion, metabolism and cell membrane integrity. New concepts, such as stunning and hibernation, are clarified, and subsequent novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are described. New and sophisticated examination techniques are also presented, as well as advances in instrumentation and imaging techniques, which may result in improved use of resources and enhanced efficiency of health care delivery. This monograph will serve as a reference source for those interested in the field of myocardial viability, and hopefully improve understanding between investigators from various disciplines. Clinical cardiologists, physicians, and nurses in the field, as well as radiologists, vascular surgeons, reperfusionists, cellular biologists and physiologists, and students will all find material of interest in this book.

Clearly presents the pathology of heart disease from fetus to adolescence, integrating histology and macroscopy with effects of treatment.

How science is opening up the mysteries of the heart, revealing the poetry in motion within the machine. Your heart is a miracle in motion, a marvel of construction unsurpassed by any human-made creation. It beats 100,000 times every day—if you were to live to 100, that would be more than 3 billion beats across your lifespan. Despite decades of effort in labs all over the world, we have not yet been able to replicate the heart’s perfect engineering. But, as Sian Harding shows us in The Exquisite Machine, new scientific developments are opening up the mysteries of the heart. And this explosion of new science—ultrafast imaging, gene editing, stem cells, artificial intelligence, and advanced sub-light microscopy—has crucial, real-world consequences for health and well-being. Harding—a world leader in cardiac research—explores the relation between the emotions and heart function, reporting that the heart not only responds to our emotions, it creates them as well. The condition known as Broken Heart Syndrome, for example, is a real disorder than can follow bereavement or stress. The Exquisite Machine describes the evolutionary forces that have shaped the heart’s response to damage, the astonishing rejuvenating power of stem cells, how we can avoid heart disease, and why it can be so hard to repair a damaged heart. It tells the stories of patients who have had the devastating experiences of a heart attack, chaotic heart rhythms, or stress-induced acute heart failure. And it describes how cutting-edge technologies are enabling experiments and clinical trials that will lead us to new solutions to the worldwide scourge of heart disease.