Heng-Jie Cheng, MD, PhDBACK

Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Upregulation of Beta3-Adrenoceptors: A New Mechanism For Age-Dependent Decline in Cardiac Function and Beta-Adrenergic Reserve

Heart disease is the number one killer and major cause of disability among Americans. Part of the problem with an aging heart is that heart cells gradually decrease their ability to contract. Dr. Cheng will test the idea that the loss of heart contractility is due to a molecule which appears with increasing frequency on the surface of aging heart cells. If true, then pharmaceutically blocking the activity of this molecule could preserve heart function in later life, thus saving lives and preserving health.