Relevance of in Pathologies of Heart Disease.

Abnormalities in G-protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels have been implicated in diseased states of the cardiovascular system; however, the role of GIRK4 (Kir3.4) in cardiac physiology and pathophysiology has yet to be completely understood. Within the heart, the K channel, consisting of two GIRK1 and two GIRK4 subunits, plays a major role in modulating the parasympathetic nervous system's influence on cardiac physiology.