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Calcium and Cardiac Relaxation

  • Chapter
Diastolic Relaxation of the Heart

Abstract

Excitation-contraction coupling in the heart can be divided into four steps as shown in Figure 3-1. First, an action potential depolarizes the sarcolemma. Second, this depolarization releases Ca2+ from the subsarcolemmal cisternae of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), allows entry of calcium from outside the sarcolemma, or both. Third, Ca2+ diffuses to troponin-C on the thin filaments, and, by a complex sequence of events, the binding of calcium to this regulatory protein permits actin and myosin to interact. Fourth, relaxation occurs when the SR reaccumulates Ca2+, causing it to dissociate from troponin C. The Na+−Ca2+ exchanger and Ca2+ pump, both located on the sarcolemma, ultimately restore Ca2+ to resting levels. The cellular mechanisms involved in each step are still not completely understood and in some cases remain subject to considerable controversy. Various aspects of the excitation-contraction process are considered in detail in several excellent reviews (1–4).

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Authors
  1. James P. Morgan
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  2. Roderick MacKinnon
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  3. Maurice Briggs
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  4. Judith K. Gwathmey
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School, Cardiovascular Division, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    William Grossman M.D. (Herman Dana Professor of Medicine, Chief) (Herman Dana Professor of Medicine, Chief)

  2. Harvard Medical School, Hemodynamic Research Laboratory, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Beverly H. Lorell M.D. (Assistant Professor of Medicine, Co-Director) (Assistant Professor of Medicine, Co-Director)

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© 1987 Martinus Nijhoff Publishing

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Morgan, J.P., MacKinnon, R., Briggs, M., Gwathmey, J.K. (1987). Calcium and Cardiac Relaxation. In: Grossman, W., Lorell, B.H. (eds) Diastolic Relaxation of the Heart. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6832-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6832-2_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-6834-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-6832-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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