Adaptive strategies of the vertebrate heart to environmental stress; regulation of function and morphology

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The vertebrate heart is incredibly adaptable. An example of this is the rapid increase in the rate and strength of cardiac contraction that occurs when an animal gets startled. Another example is the increase in heart size that occurs in response to prolonged periods of exercise training. These changes in heart function and heart morphology increase the rate at which blood can be delivered to the tissues and enable a higher rate of physical activity. The heart can also undergo maladaptive changes following cardiac injury or disease. Here scar tissue forms in the heart and the amount of muscle decreases resulting in a weakened heart with impaired function. While the above adaptive and maladaptive changes have been well described at the organ level there is less known of the cellular pathways responsible for initiating and regulating them.