Highlights the critical role of altered calcium regulation in driving contractile dysfunction and arrhythmias in heart failure.
Ca is critical in both the electrical and mechanical properties of cardiac myocytes, and much is known about ionic currents and the normal excitation-contraction coupling process. In heart failure, there are significant alterations in how myocyte Ca is regulated, and these alterations are critical in dictating both contractile dysfunction and certain cardiac arrhythmias that are characteristic of heart failure.
Donald M. Bers (Tue,) studied this question.