ИСТИНА

The myocardial tissue in superior vena cava (SVC) is one of the sources of ectopic activity that can cause atrial fibrillation. It has been established that SVC and sinoatrial node share the same precursor cells and properties during early stages of development and only later SVC myocardium is thought to undergo the «atrialization» process. The origin of SVC-derived ectopy can be associated with the high predisposition of SVC to the automaticity due to incomplete atrialization. It is not known whether developing sympathetic innervation is involved or not to the transformation of the SVC myocardium during early stages of development. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of sympathetic innervation in the regulation of automticity in rat SVC myocardium during early stages of postnatal ontogenesis.