This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by BADEER, H. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by BADEER, H. S.

(Circulation. 1964;30:128.)
© 1964 American Heart Association, Inc.

---

The Stimulus to Hypertrophy of the Myocardium

HENRY S. BADEER M.D.¹

¹ From the Department of Physiology, American University of Beirut School of Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon.

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.