Revealing the Cellular Basis of Heart Failure

Different types of heart failure have been described and these depend on which portion of the contraction-relaxation cycle (duty cycle) is affected. Systolic HF is often accompanied by a permanent reduction in sarcoplasmic reticular (SR) Ca content. Here, Bridge and Savio details the reports of Belevych et al. using a pacing-induced canine model of HF which suggest that decreased of Sr Ca content in HF is due to a single cause: an increased SR Ca leak.