Endocrinology of the Heart in Health and Disease

Book excerpt: Endocrinology of the Heart in Health and Disease: Integrated, Cellular, and Molecular Endocrinology of the Heart covers the traditional concepts of cardio-endocrinology, the role of the various hormone systems, both in health and disease, therapeutic implications, and other recent advances in the various fields represented. The book explores how cardiac hormones are changed in various cardiac pathologies and the recent success that has been uncovered in their therapeutic use. Additional focus is placed on how the heart responds both physiologically and pathophysiologically to a plethora of circulating hormones, reinforcing the importance of the heart as a target of numerous endocrine systems, such as the brain, renal, and adipose. Significant advances have come from basic, clinical, and translational research from a multiplicity of investigators with diverse backgrounds. The book features over 200 photomicrographs, diagrams of molecular relationships, and tables that complement and support the text. It is aimed at a wide audience, including graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in a wide array of biomedical departments and PhD programs (e.g. Pathology, Physiology, Genetics, Pharmacology, Molecular Biology, and Cell Biology) related to the endocrine and cardiovascular sciences curricula, as well as medical residents in pathology, laboratory medicine, internal medicine, and cardiology. - Develops the concept of the heart as both an endocrine organ and an endocrine target, exploring the endocrine function of the heart in both health and disease - Explains how the levels of several cardiac hormones are changed in various cardiac pathologies and how some hormones can be used therapeutically - Offers a single resource on cardio-endocrine disease which collates and curates the wide range of advances being made in the areas of molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, and pathology