The mechanism and significance of the slow changes of ventricular action potential duration following a change of heart rate.
This article reviews the effects of changes of heart rate on the ventricular action potential duration. These can be divided into short term (fractions of a second), resulting from the kinetics of recovery of membrane currents, through to long term (up to days), resulting from changes of protein expression. We concentrate on the medium-term changes (time course of the order of 100 s). These medium-term changes occur in isolated tissues and in the intact human heart. They may protect against cardiac arrhythmias. Finally, we discuss the cellular mechanisms responsible for these changes.
Eisner
D A
DA
University of Manchester, Unit of Cardiac Physiology, 3.18 Core Technology Facility, Manchester, UK. eisner@man.ac.uk
Dibb
K M
KM
Trafford
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D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D020746:Calcium Channels, L-Type / Q000378:metabolism; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D019831:Sodium-Calcium Exchanger / Q000378:metabolism; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
D020746:Calcium Channels, L-Type; D007473:Ion Channels; D019831:Sodium-Calcium Exchanger; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase