Aimed sympathetic denervation of the heart.

The authors describe various denervation operations, and based on their findings, propose their own method of aimed sympathetic denervation of the heart. The results assembled in acute and chronic experiments on dogs indicate that by this operation the sympathetic activation of the heart during adequate physical strain is suppressed; this does not occur, however, in complete ischaemia of the brain. Vagus innervation of the heart is also preserved and thus also the parasympathetic regulation of its rhythm. The authors discuss the importance of aimed sympathetic denervation of the heart for the surgical treatment of ischaemic heart disease.