Anesthetic agents and cardiac electromechanical activity

Abstract

The literature on the basic electrophysiology of the heart is reviewed. While there remains controversy in many areas, for example of the roles of Na+ and Ca++ in producing the slow inward current, a somewhat dogmatic approach has been used in the interest of clarity. The information is also that accepted by the majority of workers in the field of electrophysiology. In the second part of this paper the effects of agents used during anesthesia on cardiac electromechanical activity are reviewed. As stated during the introduction, much of the experimental work has yet to be confirmed in man. The majority of the work has also been done on normal tissue. Future studies concerned with responses to these agents in diseased tissue will be needed for us to be able fully to apply the information to clinical situations.