Adaptation to stress increases the heart resistance to ischemic and reperfusion arrhythmias

Adaptation to repeated stress prevents or limits ischemic and reperfusion arrhythmias in the whole organism. In studying mechanism of this phenomenon, we have investigated the effect of local ischemia and subsequent reperfusion on the function of isolated hearts of rats adapted to the stress of repeated immobilization. We established that such adaptation limited the depression of the amplitude and velocity of contraction and velocity of relaxation of the heart in ischemia and subsequent reperfusion. Simultaneously this adaptation limited reperfusion-induced arrhythmias to a considerable extent; in particular, the duration of reperfusion-induced fibrillation was reduced two-fold. Thus the cardioprotective antiarrhythmic effect of adaptation of the organism to stress exposure depends not only on adaptive alterations of central regulation, but to a considerable extent, is determined by processes occurring at the level of the heart itself.