Neurocardiology: key mechanisms and clinical implications

Neurocardiology is a comparatively young, interdisciplinary field that deals intensively with the (patho-)physiological interactions between the nervous system and the cardiovascular system. The fact that emotions and stress can affect the heart has been known medically for centuries. However, it is only in recent decades that it has been recognized that a large number of cardiovascular diseases (e.g. heart failure, high blood pressure, arrhythmias) and cardiovascular events (e.g. sudden cardiac death) are controlled to a considerable extent by neurogenic mechanisms.