Heart has been searched to differentiate the effects of physiologic and pathologic stressors as exercise, functional (hypertension), emotional (acute and chronic stress) and mechanic (aortic stenosis) for a long time. Now, we know that septal base is extremely sensitive tissue to a variety of stress stimulants and called ”STRESS HEART MORPHOLOGY (SHM)” which represents a unique location related to nonspecific stressors. Therefore, superposed multiple stressors result in a heterogeneity and irregularity in human SHM and emphasize the relative contribution of mental and emotional stress differently from animal SHM. Furthermore, we have reported our initial findings regarding SHM and ”SUPERPOSED MULTIPLE STRESSORS”. In this perspective, we have introduced a new clinical term ”ACUTE DECOMPANSATION OF SHM IN CHRONIC HYPERTENSION” instead of acute stress cardiomyopathy. Moreover, novel MRI reports in athletes with both physiologic and pathologic findings have supported our paradigm of ”SUPERPOSED MULTIPLE STRESSORS” and contributed to promising role of this paradigm for the future and our plenty of literature data including 2 dimensional, real-time three dimensional echocardiography, tissue-Doppler imaging, combine tissue-Doppler and stress imaging and 3rd generation microscopic ultrasonography.

As the editor of this book, I would thank all contributers and strongly believe that medical struggle in medical management of the superposed multiple stressors will increase with this book.

Prof. Dr. Fatih YALÇIN
Editor
Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Tayfur Ata Sökmen Faculty of Medicine, Department of Cardiology, Hatay, Türkiye