Myocardial hypertrophy is associated with inflammation and activation of endocannabinoid system in patients with aortic valve stenosis.

article i nfo Article history: Received 1 February 2013 Accepted 22 March 2013 Aims: Endocannabinoids and their receptors have been associated with cardiac adaptation to injury, inflam- mation and fibrosis. Experimental studies suggested a role for inflammatory reaction and active remodeling in myocardial hypertrophy, but they have not been shown in human hypertrophy. We investigated the asso- ciation of the endocannabinoid system with myocardial hypertrophy in patients with aortic stenosis. Main methods: Myocardial biopsies were collected from patients with aortic stenosis (AS) and atrial myxoma as controls during surgery. Histological and molecular analysis of endocannabinoids and their r…