Effects of heart disease on cardiac ion current density versus current amplitude: important conceptual subtleties in the language of arrhythmogenic ion channel remodeling.

摘要

It is well established that heart disease can profoundly change cardiac action potentials. Action potential abnormalities are caused by derangements in cardiac ion channel expression and function, often called "ion channel remodeling," that can cause serious, sometimes lethal, arrhythmias. The literature regarding arrhythmogenic ion channel remodeling is vast and complicated. A PubMed search with the single key word phrase "cardiac channel remodeling" returned 50 publications in 2007 alone, indicating a high level of research activity.