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Neural Pathology of the Heart in Sudden Death

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Sudden Death

Part of the book series: Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine ((DICM,volume 4))

Abstract

When sudden death occurs unexpectedly and cannot be explained by usual findings or circumstances, most now believe that the terminal event was a lethal disturbance of the electrical activity of the heart. By contrast to occasionally fatal instability, there is normally a remarkable stability of cardiac rhythm and conduction which. is marvelously durable under a continuing barrage of changes in demand on the work of the heart. Many different factors contribute to this durable stability. Familiar ones include changes in the contractile property of myocardium and in the pattern of coronary flow. It is not generally appreciated how important autonomic neural control is to almost every facet of this stable performance, including not only cardiac contraction and coronary flow, but also every component of the heart’s electrophysiological function. Nerves influence the rate at which the heart beats, the nature of its rhythm, the speed and route by which it conducts its electrical impulse, and the process by which both the atrial and ventricular myocardium becomes repolarized.

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Authors
  1. Th. N. James
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium

    H. E. Kulbertus

  2. Department of Cardiology, Annadal Hospital, University of Limburg, Maastricht, Netherlands

    H. J. J. Wellens

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© 1980 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers bv, The Hague

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James, T.N. (1980). Neural Pathology of the Heart in Sudden Death. In: Kulbertus, H.E., Wellens, H.J.J. (eds) Sudden Death. Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8834-7_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8834-7_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-009-8836-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-8834-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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