Molecular biology and biochemical techniques, the avant-garde of medical research, are now also being used to investigate cardiovascular events. The fifty-one selected contributions in this volume based on the 14th International Society of Heart Research (ISHR) Meeting in 1992 document the discoveries being made at the frontiers of research with cardiac molecular and genetic biology and technology. The contents may be divided into five categories: 1) the process of ischemic myocardial damage in heart failure, 2) biochemical abnormalities in cardiomyopathy, 3) signal transduction in diseased myocardial cells, 4) electrophysiological abnormalities of the failing heart, and 5) recent concepts in drug therapy. The book builds a bridge for the flow of up-to-date information from active veteran researchers to young talented investigators who offer great promise for the future.