The Frank-Starling's Law of the Heart - Revisited

The famous Frank-Starling law which was once proposed by two great men Otto Frank and Earnst Starling to explain the fundamental mechanism of contraction of the cardiac muscle, has proven itself to be a great contribution in understanding the concept of inotropy of the heart, its pathological implications in a condition like heart failure, as well as its applications in the study of drugs that alter the contractility of heart. Even today, this law is widely accepted to be the basis of the wonderful functioning of the heart as a pump. This article is an attempt to review the applications of this law and contribute to cardiovascular research by bridging the gap between physiology, pharmacology and medicine.