Dr. Ardell’s interest in what is now emerging as the field of neurocardiology began in the laboratory of Dr. Walter Randall. In collaboration with Dr. Randall and then with Dr. Armour, Dr. Ardell first defined primary elements of the intrinsic cardiac nervous system and then how they interacted together to control regional cardiac function in the normal heart. The group’s subsequent work demonstrated that the progression of cardiac disease reflects maladaptive interactions that occur between the heart and neurohumoral control. Its recent work has demonstrated that targeting select elements within the cardiac nervous system can lead to efficacious results in select cardiac disease states including myocardial ischemia/infarction, atrial arrhythmias and congestive heart failure. With appropriate neuro-modulation therapy, myocytes are rendered stress resistance, autonomic responsiveness for control of the heart is preserved, and the potential for fatal arrhythmias if reduced. Such work has already found clinical applications in treatment of angina (e.g. spinal cord stimulation), congestive heart failure (e.g. vagal nerve stimulation), VT storms (decentralization of stellate ganglia from CNS), and in management of atrial arrhythmias (traditional RF ablation with concurrent disruption of elements of the ICNS).

Source: https://bioscience.ucla.edu/faculty/jeffrey-ardell