Advances in cellular physiology and molecular biology have now disclosed the metabolic changes and adaptational responses of the heart to various kinds of stresses. Topics covered in this volume include the regulation of myocardial proteins in mechanical overload, the alteration of adrenoceptors in the stressed heart, metabolic adaptation in cardiac hypertrophy, intracellular calcium metabolism in the ischemia-reperfused myocardium, calcium overload as a cause of myocardial stunning, acquisition of ischemic tolerance by ischemic preconditioning, factors that accelerate myocardial injury, and...