Can neuromodulation be used to change the sensory transduction of the ischemic ventricle? To answer this question, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Irving H. Zucker (University of Nebraska Medical Center) interviewed lead author Jeffrey Ardell ( University of California Los Angeles) and content expert Marc Kaufman (Pennsylvania State University) about the new work by Salavatian et al. Ardell and co-authors found that preemptive spinal cord stimulation can reduce the afferent signal coming from the ischemic ventricle. Was this a result of a change in substrate utilization in the heart or was this “silent ischemia”? Does this spinal cord stimulation work by Ardell and collaborators have the potential to translate to reducing pain for patients with angina? Don’t miss the extra “off the record” commentary at the end to find out.

 

Siamak Salavatian, Sarah M. Ardell, Mathew Hammer, David Gibbons, J. Andrew Armour, Jeffrey L. Ardell Thoracic spinal cord neuromodulation obtunds dorsal root ganglion afferent neuronal transduction of the ischemic ventricle Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published November 4, 2019. DOI: doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00257.2019