Neurocardiology
Encyclopedia
Neurocardiology is the study of the neurophysiological, neurological
and neuroanatomical
aspects of cardiology
, including especially the neurological origins of cardiac disorders. The effects of stress on the heart
are studied in terms of the heart's interactions with both the peripheral nervous system
and the central nervous system
.
Clinical issues in neurocardiology include hypoxic
-ischemic brain injury, cerebral embolism
, encephalopathy
, neurologic sequelae of cardiac surgery and cardiac interventions, and cardiovascular findings in patients with primary neurological disease.
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
and neuroanatomical
Neuroanatomy
Neuroanatomy is the study of the anatomy and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defined nervous systems, and thus we can begin to speak of...
aspects of cardiology
Cardiology
Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
, including especially the neurological origins of cardiac disorders. The effects of stress on the heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
are studied in terms of the heart's interactions with both the peripheral nervous system
Peripheral nervous system
The peripheral nervous system consists of the nerves and ganglia outside of the brain and spinal cord. The main function of the PNS is to connect the central nervous system to the limbs and organs. Unlike the CNS, the PNS is not protected by the bone of spine and skull, or by the blood–brain...
and the central nervous system
Central nervous system
The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...
.
Clinical issues in neurocardiology include hypoxic
Hypoxia (medical)
Hypoxia, or hypoxiation, is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, for example, during strenuous physical exercise...
-ischemic brain injury, cerebral embolism
Embolism
In medicine, an embolism is the event of lodging of an embolus into a narrow capillary vessel of an arterial bed which causes a blockage in a distant part of the body.Embolization is...
, encephalopathy
Encephalopathy
Encephalopathy means disorder or disease of the brain. In modern usage, encephalopathy does not refer to a single disease, but rather to a syndrome of global brain dysfunction; this syndrome can be caused by many different illnesses.-Terminology:...
, neurologic sequelae of cardiac surgery and cardiac interventions, and cardiovascular findings in patients with primary neurological disease.
Literature
- Aulbert, E. A., et al.: Neurocardiology: the benefits of irregularity. The basics of methodology, physiology and current clinical applications. Acta Cardiol. 1999 (54) 107-120