ABSTRACT
The cardiovascular system is comprised of three circulatory systems. The systemic circulation nourishes the body, except for the lungs and heart, which have their own pulmonary and coronary circulations, respectively. The heart is a specialized muscle whose primary function is to pump blood through the body with sufficient pressure and volume to provide oxygen for aerobic metabolism. Cardiac injury may arise from a wide diversity of causes including those that affect the heart primarily, but also those that affect other organs or systems and result in secondary injury to the heart. Excessive endocrine stimulation may also cause cardiac injury. As natural infectious causes of myocarditis are uncommon in nonhuman primates, it is suspected that it may be secondary to stress-induced cardiac injury. Blunt trauma may occur during handling and restraint, especially with small animals, and could cause release of biomarkers of myocardial injury. In human renal failure, myocardial injury occurs with increased short-term mortality.
