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Cardiac hypertrophy: the good, the bad, and the ugly

N Frey1, E N Olson

  • 1Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9148, USA. eric.olson@utsouthwestern.edu

Annual Review of Physiology
|January 14, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Cardiac hypertrophy, an enlarged heart, is often maladaptive and linked to heart failure. Targeting myocardial growth offers new therapeutic strategies for heart disease prevention and treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pathophysiology

Background:

  • Cardiac hypertrophy is the heart's response to biomechanical stress.
  • While it can normalize wall tension, hypertrophy is often maladaptive, leading to heart failure and sudden death.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent insights into hypertrophic signaling pathways.
  • To explore novel antihypertrophic strategies for preventing and treating heart failure.

Main Methods:

  • Review of human patient and animal model studies.
  • Analysis of molecular signaling in myocardial growth.
  • Evaluation of therapeutic interventions targeting cardiac hypertrophy.

Main Results:

  • Cardiac hypertrophy is frequently a maladaptive process, not a compensatory one.
  • Modulating myocardial growth shows promise for heart failure treatment.
  • Novel antihypertrophic strategies are emerging.

Conclusions:

  • Cardiac hypertrophy is a significant risk factor for adverse cardiac events.
  • Targeting hypertrophic signaling pathways is a promising therapeutic avenue.
  • Further research into antihypertrophic strategies is warranted for heart failure management.

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