The autonomic imbalance is deleterious for the cardiac function, and this effect is associated with a poor outcome of cardiovascular diseases including acute MI. One of the strategies that have been used in recent times to modulate this imbalance is electrical VNS. Over the past decade, chronic, intermittent VNS has been shown to exert cardioprotective effects in chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy as well as in heart failure in both clinical and experimental animal studies. However, the mechanisms by which VNS produces its protective effects are not yet entirely known. Through this study, we will shed light on the mechanistic insights underlying the cardioprotective effects of VNS. Thus the specific aims of this proposal are to:
