Stress Catecholamines And Cardiovascular Disease

The starting point for understanding the roles of stress and catecholamines in cardiovascular disorders is a theory defining stress. This book presents a new homeostatic theory of stress and distress and uses it to explain how systems using the endogenous catecholamines - norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine - and other effector systems maintain the internal environment during stress. The theory proposes coordinated activation of the body's several stress systems in primitively specific patterns during exposure to various stressors. Comparator homeostats interpret afferent information about specific physiological or chemical variables and regulate operations of the effector systems. Via a hierarchical mosaic of central nerve cell clusters, the brain constantly redefines homeostasis by resetting homeostats, especially during stress.

A recent comprehensive study of stress and human health by the Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Sciences concludes that individuals who experience any of a wide range of stressful events or situations are at increased risk of developing a physical or mental disorder, including heart disease. Since cardiovascular disease continues to be a leading cause of illness and death, and since the etiology and pathogenesis of several of the commonest forms of heart disease are incompletely known, it is of fundamental impor tance to study the potential role of stress in the genesis of heart disease. Accordingly an International Symposium on Stress and Heart Disease was held in Winnipeg, Canada, June 26-29, 1984 and the proceedings form the basis of this book and its companion volume, "Stress and Heart Disease". The connection between stress (the behavioral sciences) and heart disease (the biomedical sciences) occurs in the mechanisms through which the brain affects or controls the endocrine and the autonomic nervous systems. Initially this linkage appeared to be relatively simple, mainly involving catecholamines and corticosteroids, and communication between nerve cells was thought to be electrical. Now knowledge has increased and concepts have change dramatic ally. Major advances have occurred in biochemical, anatomical, physiological, pharmacological, pathological and behavioral aspects of the neuroendocrine system. The over whelming significance of chemical communication in the nli xviii nervous system has become clear.

The main aim of this book is to evaluate the concept of stress and provide tools for physicians to identify patients who might benefit from stress management. This will incorporate a detailed description of the physiological and pathophysiological consequences of acute and chronic stress that might lead to cardiovascular disease. The book will aim to critically evaluate interventional research (behavioural and other therapies) and provide evidence based recommendations on how to manage stress in the cardiovascular patient. Our intentions are to define and highlight stress as an etiological factor for cardiovascular disease, and to describe an evidence based "tool box" that physicians may use to identify and manage patients in whom stress may be an important contributing factor for their disease and their risk of suffering cardiovascular complications.

It has been known or suspected for centuries that there is an association between mind and emotions and the occurrence of heart disease apd sudden death. During the past fifty years this relationship has become identified with the concept of Stress, a notion developed and popularized by Hans Selye. In recent years there has been an upward surge of interest in stress by scientists in several disciplines and by the general public. Although, books, journal articles, seminars and media programs devoted to stress now abound, the definition, manifestations, mechanisms, and management of stress remain uncertain and controversial. In an attempt to clarify the situation an International Symposium on Stress and Heart Disease was held in Winnipeg, Canada, June 26-29, 1984, and the proceedings form the basis of this book and its companion volume "Patho genesis of Stress-Induced Heart Disease". Although most species which have ever existed are now extinct through countless millenia, the human species has successfully adapted to changing conditions ("stressors") such as ice ages, predators and parasites, wars, famine and plague, and now it is coping with rapidly changing social, economic and political circumstances. Such adaptation occurs at all levels of life- at the molecular level within the cell, at the level of the whole cell, in the groups of cells as organs, in the entire organism or individual, and in some cases, in the society in which the individual lives.

A concise, in-depth analysis of the status of the sympathetic system in heart diseases This book summarizes the functional status of the sympathetic neural system in cardiological diseased states and highlights aspects of sympathetic neural activity that are important to an overall understanding of the pathophysiology process. Critical reviews of methods for evaluating sympathetic activity are discussed, existing data is closely scrutinized, and attempts are made to delineate the factors derived from increased sympathetic activity. The book provides a physiologically and clinically based approach to the investigation of the involvement of catecholamines in cardiovascular diseases, which makes it a valuable addition to the reference collections of researchers, clinical scientists, and graduate students.

The first major reference covering theory and research on reactivity--individual differences in physiological response to stress--and its role in heart disease. Examines key conceptual issues in this evolving area and provides a comprehensive source of research data on reactivity, along with guidelines for identifying and measuring stressor and reactivity variables. Describes behavorially induced pathophysiological mechanisms and explores the interaction of reactivity with other health-related behaviors, such as caffeine consumption, smoking, and exercise. For researchers, the handbook identifies questions for future investigation. For clinicians, it provides new diagnostic techniques and suggests avenues for therepy.