The relation between muscle length or sarcomere length and developed tension for lengths
up to the optimal for contraction (L max) is much steeper in cardiac muscle than in skeletal …

Triggered activity in cardiac muscle and intracellular Ca2+ have been linked in the past.
However, today not only are there a number of cellular proteins that show clear Ca2+ …

T-tubular invaginations of the sarcolemma of ventricular cardiomyocytes contain junctional
structures functionally coupling L-type calcium channels to the sarcoplasmic reticulum …

Atrial Stretch Precipitates Atrial Fibrillation. Introduction: We have shown previously that
acute atrial dilation prolonged atrial refractoriness. We hypothesized that this increase in …

Nonuniformity of mechanical performance is inherent to the multicellular nature and specific
geometry and configuration of the ventricle of the heart. Although the concept of …

Various mechanisms have been suggested to explain the high prevalence of ventricular
arrhythmia in patients with heart failure, but as yet there is no unifying theory. There is …

This review focuses on the complex interactions between two major regulators of cardiac
function; Ca2+ and stretch. Initial consideration is given to the effect of stretch on myocardial …

1. Alternate long and short action potential durations, or electrical alternans, has only been
sporadically observed in ischaemic myocardium in situ. We systematically studied alternans …

The syndrome of congestive heart failure (CHF) is an entity of ever increasing clinical
significance. CHF is characterized by a steady decrease in cardiac pump function which is …

1. Introduction 1). Driving the heart at cycle lengths just longer than the threshold may
produce transient alternans [4, 6]. Transient Mechanical alternans (pulsus alternans) is a …