The relationship between cardiac charge movements associated with I in cardiac myocytes. (calcium current; sodium-calcium current)

Ventricular myocytes exhibit a nifedipine-sensitive inward calcium current ([I.sub.Ca]) and contracture when they are voltage clamped from -40 to 0 millivolt in the presence of caffeine and in the absence of extracellular sodium. However, upon repolarization they fail to relax because neither the sarcoplasmic reticulum nor the sodium-calcium exchange can reduce intracellular calcium. Sudden application of extracellular sodium during the contracture (but after repolarization) causes immediate relaxation and activates a transient inward sodium-calcium exchange current ([I.sub.Na-Ca]), whose peak slightly precedes mechanical relaxation. The total charge carried by the nifedipine-sensitive [I.sub.Ca] is twice the total charge carried by the transient inward [I.sub.Na-Ca]. Assuming an exchange stoichiometry of three sodium to one calcium, these results indicate that all the calcium entering the cell during the initial depolarization is extruded by the sodium-calcium exchange.