Hormonal and metabolic reactions evoked by acute myocardial infarction.

RECOGNITION of the importance of humoral balance in the body originated in the work of Claude Bernard (1855) and was developed later mainly by Cannon (1915) and Selye (1950). Recent myocardial infarction (MI) has been reported to elicit humoral disturbances which, a little more than a decade ago, were not considered of importance. The recognition that they may influence the clinical course of the disease came in recent years as a consequence of better understanding of the complex character of MI and the nature of its complications. In this review I intend to show briefly the accumulated data on the pattern of humoral, mainly hormonal, disorders accompanying MI which have been relatively well elucidated. Their interrelations and the mechanism of their possible influence on the clinical course of the disease also will be outlined. The therapeutic implications of this knowledge will be discussed briefly and some areas which require further research will be suggested.