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Background. Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of premature death in patients with end‐stage renal disease, possibly due to a specific ‘uraemic cardiomyopathy’. This study was designed to investigate the cardiac changes induced by a moderate impairment of renal function in a model of uraemia.

Methods. Male Wistar rats (n=11) were rendered uraemic by 5/6 nephrectomy or sham operated (n=11). After 4 weeks, cardiac dimensions were measured from fixed tissue sections using a digital image analysis technique. In parallel groups of animals, cardiac myocytes were isolated and studied for evidence of functional changes attributable to uraemia. After steady‐state field stimulation at 0.5 Hz, intracellular Ca²⁺ handling (using Fura‐2) was investigated. Up to 20 consecutive transients were averaged as the extracellular Ca²⁺ was increased.

Results. The 5/6 …