title: [Cytokines and heart diseases. Attempt at an update].
abstract: Acute septic cardiomyopathy is-to our present knowledge-the heart disease most strongly interrelated with cytokines. Myocardial depression by cytokines is characterized by their pleiotropic actions mediating not only impairment of one, but several inotropic cascades. Information concerning the relevance of cytokines in non-septic heart diseases is-at present-scarce: Concepts emerge in cases of myocarditis, heart failure and cardiomyopathies, acute coronary syndromes, systemic inflammatory response due to cardiopulmonary bypass, heart transplant rejection and Kawasaki disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cytokines are involved in heart diseases.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Kardiologische Intensivmedizin an der Klinik für Innere Medizin III, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Werdan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000502:physiology*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000276:immunology; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D012772:Shock, Septic / Q000276:immunology*; D018746:Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines