Myocardial Ischemia: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Myocardial ischemia results from a reduction in coronary blood flow to the working myocardium, which leads to a corresponding decrease in oxygen delivery to the heart. This book reviews the pathophysiology of myocardial ischemia as well as advancements that are being made to enable diagnosis of this disease in the early stages. The authors of this book also discuss current evidence about cardiac biomarkers in patients on hemodialysis (HD), with emphasis on two emerging biomarkers, cTn and BNPs. Furthermore, potential roles for these markers to be incorporated into future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for myocardial ischemia in HD patients is analysed. Additionally, this book focuses on the post-MI biochemical, cellular and tissue-level changes that ultimately result in hypertrophy, dilatation, and heart failure and examines the ways in which those changes affect susceptibility to ventricular arrhythmias. Finally, this book provides an overview of the clinical application status and limitations of current treatment of myocardial ischemia, future technologies under development, and results of pre-clinical studies using animal models. Current therapeutic regiments also address the long-term effects of MI, including management of cardiac remodelling and recurrent ischemia. Medical therapies such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, beta-adrenergic blockers and other agents continue to show promise in this regard.