Biochemical Society transactions
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Biochem. Soc. Trans. · Nov 2007
ReviewCalcium in the heart: when it's good, it's very very good, but when it's bad, it's horrid.
Ca(2+) increases in the heart control both contraction and transcription. To accommodate a short-term increased cardiovascular demand, neurohormonal modulators acting on the cardiac pacemaker and individual myocytes induce an increase in frequency and magnitude of myocyte contraction respectively. ⋯ As a result of disease, however, hypertrophy progresses to a decompensated state and Ca(2+) signalling capacity and cardiac output are reduced. Here, the role that Ca(2+) plays in the induction of hypertrophy as well as the impact that cardiac hypertrophy and failure has on Ca(2+) fluxes will be discussed.