Reduced function of this ion channel is a risk factor increasing the risk of arrhythmia. In their study, the researchers studied the type of ion channel most often mutated in LQTS, which is called Kv7.1/KCNE1. Could it have anything to do with women having more estrogen than men? This in light of the fact that women are generally seen as having better protection against cardiovascular diseases. They came up with this idea when asked by heart specialists why women are not only more often affected than men, but also more severely affected, by certain hereditary diseases causing an abnormal heart rhythm, also known as arrhythmia. In this study, the researchers have taken an interest in possible effects of the sex hormone estrogen. If we could figure out how this regulation works, maybe we can understand why some individuals are more protected and others are hit harder," says Sara Liin, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at Linköping University, LiU. "We're trying to understand which substances in the body impact the function of the ion channels. This syndrome is most often due to a congenital hereditary change, or mutation, affecting one of the heart's ion channels. In LQTS patients, the heart takes longer than normal to finish every heartbeat. Long QT syndrome, LQTS, is one such disease.
Together, they regulate every heartbeat throughout life.ĭiseases causing an abnormal heart rhythm may, in some cases, be deadly. Some ion channels act as an accelerator and others as a brake. The heart's electrical activity is regulated by small pores, ion channels, that go through the cell's membranes and regulate the flow of electrically charged ions in and out of the cell. Each heartbeat is triggered by an electrical impulse that causes the heart muscle to contract in a very well-coordinated movement. In a lifetime, the heart beats around 2.5 billion times.
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