[Stress-limiting systems and the problem of the prevention of arrhythmia]

Marked systemic resistance to damaging effects of stress develops as a result of repeated short-term stress exposures. This kind of adaptation is ensured by the activation of stress-limiting systems, namely, the opioidergic, GABA-ergic, serotoninergic, as well as antioxidant and prostaglandin ones. Proceeding from the stress-limiting system concept, adaptation to repeated stress exposure, as well as metabolites, synthetic analogues and activators of stress-limiting systems were successfully used to prevent and eliminate cardiac arrhythmias and fibrillations associated with acute ischemia, myocardial infarction and postinfarction cardiosclerosis. Prospects of further studies of stress-limiting systems' metabolites and activators as antiarrhythmic agents are considered.