Modern cardiovascular science has produced a revolutionary new idea: the heart acts not merely as a pump, but as a "gland," that is as a regulator of circulatory homeostasis and salt-water balance. This book combines the classical heamodynamic view with the new neuro-hormonal paradigm, in all its potential clinical implications. The book will interest physiologists and clinicians involved in the study of the cardiovascular system and care of heart patients.

Modern cardiovascular science has produced a revolutionary new idea: the heart acts not merely as a pump, but as a "gland," that is as a regulator of circulatory homeostasis and salt-water balance. This book combines the classical heamodynamic view with the new neuro-hormonal paradigm, in all its potential clinical implications. The book will interest physiologists and clinicians involved in the study of the cardiovascular system and care of heart patients.

This book systematically focuses on central sleep apneas, analyzing their relationship especially with heart failure and discussing recent research results and emerging treatment strategies based on feedback modulation. The opening chapters present historical background information on Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR), clarify terminology, and explain the mechanics and chemistry of respiration. Following a description of the physiology of respiration, the pathophysiology underlying central apneas in different disorders and particularly in heart failure is discussed. The similarities and...