Knowledge of cardiac ion channels and transporters has advanced remarkably in the last two decades with the development of patch-clamp and molecular biological techniques. This textbook offers a comprehensive overview of structures and functions of ion channels and transporters in the heart. Readers are first introduced to the molecular biology and electrophysiology of all the important ion channels. After discussing their developmental changes, the pharmacology and pathophysiology of clinically-relevant ion channels are reviewed. Molecular aspects of the cardiac excitation-contraction coupling and intracellular Ca2+ regulation by ion transporters are also described. The book will be useful to electrophysiologists, cardiac physiologists and pharmacologists, and molecular biologists interested in ion channels at all levels. For research specialists, the book will provide a perspective of the field. The book can be used as a reference source for working scientists in the fields of ion channels, biophysics, cardiac electrophysiology, and pharmacology. It is aimed at graduate and medical students, designed for use as a textbook for graduate and medical courses.

This completely updated and expanded 2nd Edition provides all the information needed in order to understand the complex molecular, cellular and genetic mechanisms that underlie normal and abnormal cardiac rhythms. Its goal is to help physiologists and clinicians alike develop better preventive and treatment strategies. The respective chapters cover a broad range of topics, including the role of specific ion channels and transporters, gap junctions, intracellular Ca2+ handling in pacemaker activity, impulse conduction, and the activity of atrial and ventricular myocardium. Special emphasis is placed on the unique electrophysiology of specialized pacemaking cells and conducting fibers. In turn, several types of inherited and acquired ventricular arrhythmias are presented in detail. Clinicians will especially appreciate the updated information on even common disorders like atrial fibrillation and their impacts on human physiology. In closing, the book goes “one step further” and considers future prospects, e.g. novel antiarrhythmic agents and new concepts like optogenetics, in the context of heart rate regulation. Accordingly, it offers readers a solid reference guide to everything they need to know about human heart rate and rhythm.

The present volume is dedicated to important cardiac ion channels, their function in (patho-)physiology and their pharmacology. The reviews included provide the most recent update on research on these putative drug targets for arrhythmias, coronary heart disease and heart failure. However, as the number of identified cardiac ion channel genes is enormous and a lot of research still remains to be done, the publication at hand can only cover a small portion of them in detail. The identification of an ion channel gene is only the first step towards the understanding of the role and function of a particular channel. Following the identification of a novel gene and its basic channel properties, the analysis of its tissue distribution, the regulation of protein function and expression under physiological and pathophysiological conditions as well as the composition of the channel complex (is it a hetero- or homopolymeric channel) will play a crucial role in establishing a channel as a putative new drug target. Many of these criteria are covered by the reviews in this publication, helping the researcher to keep up with developments in this complex field of research.

Pathological heart rhythms are a major health issue. In this book experts from various fields provide an important context for understanding the complicated molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie normal and pathophysiological cardiac rhythms. Individual chapters cover a full range of topics, including the ionic basis of pacemaking, the role of specific channels and transporters in sinoatrial node pacemaking, altered intracellular Ca2+ handling in response to disease, computer modeling of the action potentials of pacemaker and working cardiomyocytes, genetic and molecular basis of inherited arrhythmias and a review of established and novel antiarrhythmic agents. Due to the key importance of the specialized pacemaker cells and tissue (sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes) in maintaining heart rate and rhythm, special emphasis is placed on the peculiar electrophysiology of these cells.

A comprehensive review of all the latest developments in cardiac electrophysiology, focusing on both the clinical and experimental aspects of ventricular repolarization, including newly discovered clinical repolarization syndromes, electrocardiographic phenomena, and their correlation with the most recent advances in basic science. The authors illuminate the basic electrophysiologic, molecular, and pharmacologic mechanisms underlying ventricular repolarization, relate them to specific disease conditions, and examine the future of antiarrhythmic drug development based on both molecular and electrophysiological properties. They also fully review the clinical presentation and management of specific cardiac repolarization conditions.