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Role of blood flow in carotid body chemoreflex function in heart failure
Author(s) -
Ding Yanfeng,
Li YuLong,
Schultz Harold D.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.2010.200584
Subject(s) - chemoreceptor , heart failure , sympathetic nervous system , carotid body , stimulus (psychology) , medicine , blood flow , heart rate , pathophysiology , autonomic nervous system , cardiology , endocrinology , blood pressure , electrophysiology , receptor , psychology , psychotherapist
Non‐technical summary Activation of the sympathetic nervous system hastens the rate of progression and severity of chronic heart failure (CHF). Chemically sensitive nerves in the carotid body (CB) that stimulate sympathetic nerve activity become overly active in CHF and contribute to this phenomenon. The stimulus for activation of these CB chemoreceptors is not known. Blood supply to tissues is impaired due to the failing heart. In this study we tested whether a chronic reduction in blood flow to the CB may contribute to altered CB chemoreceptor function. The results show that changes that occur in CB chemoreceptor function during CHF are identical to those that occur if blood flow is simply reduced to the CB for several weeks. The results suggest that chronic impairment of blood flow may be the key step in the pathophysiological events that cause sympathetic nervous system activation in heart failure.