The Stimulus to Hypertrophy of the Myocardium

Abstract

Opinion is still divided concerning the fundamental nature of the stimulus to myocardial hypertrophy in various clinical and experimental conditions. Some of the current hypotheses, such as nutritional deficiency of the myocardium, excessive hormonal secretion, increased external work, myocardial dilatation, and increased myocardial energy expenditure were discussed, and an attempt was made to identify a unifying concept. The hypothesis that chronic increase in myocardial metabolic rate per beat per unit mass of tissue constitutes the stimulus was favored most on the grounds that it was more inclusive than any other in explaining hypertrophy. This view was far from proved, however, and deserves serious attention and experimental verification by future investigators in this field.