Heart disease claims more lives than Cancer, AIDS and all other diseases combined.

It is the #1 killer of Americans.

Nearly 1.5 million Americans experience a heart attack every year 500,000 of these die soon after in most cases due to an abnormal rhythm of the heart, known as an arrhythmia

Sudden cardiac death, an arrhythmia known as ventricular fibrillation, claims a life nearly every minute of every day

For these reasons the Laboratory has made the study of the electrical activity of the heart its major focus. Over half of the mechanisms underlying abnormal rhythms of the heart found in today's Cardiology Textbooks were discovered or unraveled at the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory.

Pharmacology

Using state-of-the-art electrophysiologic techniques, investigators at the Laboratory are able to record electrical activity from single cells within the heart and to examine the effects of a wide variety of drugs on the function of the heart. These studies are designed to advance our understanding of heart disease and to aid in the development of future treatments. The beneficial as well as potentially dangerous effects of today's commonly prescribed drugs are also the subjects of detailed investigation.

An exciting new discovery by the Experimental Cardiology team at the Laboratory is the identification of a unique population of cells in the deep layers of the heart. These cells, given the name M cells, were found to possess electrical properties different from other cells in the heart. M Cells were also found to respond differently to a wide variety of drugs. Studies are underway to determine to what extent M Cells may be responsible for the development of life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms during and after a heart attack or in response to certain drugs. M cells may also hold the key to our understanding of sudden cardiac death, a syndrome that claims the lives of over 400,000 Americans each year.

Our experimental cardiologists have also gained notoriety for describing major differences in the electrical properties of muscle cells on the inside versus outside of the heart. They showed prominent differences in the response of the two cell types to a wide variety of drugs commonly used to treat heart disease as well as to some hormones normally not found in our body. These findings may have many important implications.

Computer Modeling

Using data obtained experimentally, computer technology is used to develop mathematical models of the electrical behavior of the heart. These models assist researchers in designing new experiments. The computer models also facilitate the development of diagnostic criteria and clinical application of the knowledge gained.

These experimental and mathematical studies have greatly advanced our understanding of cardiac arrhythmias and have also contributed to our understanding of certain deflections in the electrocardiogram (ECG), including the J wave and U wave.

Research Findings

Dr. Antzelevitch and members of the Experimental Cardiology group have been invited to present the results of this pioneering research at international symposia held in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Monaco, Scotland, Japan, Venezuela, and Slovakia, and at many Colleges, Universities and Medical Schools throughout the United States and Canada.

To date the Laboratory has contributed hundreds of publications to the scientific literature, most appearing in prestigious national and international journals. Our scientists have also authored or co-authored numerous chapters in medical and biomedical books. These include education and reference textbooks such as Goodman and Gilman's Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics and E. Frohlich's Pathophysiology.