Heart failure: Emerging concepts in excitation-contraction coupling and β-adrenoceptor coupling

Abstract

The process that begins contraction in the heart is known as excitation - contraction (E - C) coupling because it couples electrical signals on the membrane of the cardiac cell to activation of the myofilament and cross-bridge cycling. The cardiac action potential is produced by the coordinated interaction of many ion channels, which transduce physiological signals within and between cardiomyocytes. These cardiomyocytes are further regulated by a number of receptors that control the strength of the contraction on a beat-to-beat basis and their morphology in a chronic fashion. In heart failure, a number of steps in E - C coupling become abnormal. In this chapter, we will examine the role of these abnormalities in the development of heart failure. © 2006 Humana Press Inc.