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Cardiac hypertrophy determines digitalis action on intracellular Ca2+ in human myocardium

J R Lopez1, N Linares, P A Brady

  • 1Centro de Biofisica y Bioquimica, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Caracas, Venezuela.

European Journal of Pharmacology
|February 24, 1998
PubMed

Insights

Ventricular hypertrophy increases intracellular calcium levels more significantly when treated with digitalis (strophanthidin). The degree of hypertrophy inversely impacts this calcium increase in human heart muscle.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Biochemistry
  • Physiology

Background:

  • Ventricular hypertrophy alters ion transporters crucial for digitalis efficacy.
  • The effect of digitalis on intracellular cations in hypertrophied human myocardium is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of digitalis (strophanthidin) on intracellular calcium (Ca2+) levels in human myocardium with and without ventricular hypertrophy.
  • To determine how ventricular hypertrophy influences the response to digitalis treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized double-barreled Ca2+-selective microelectrodes to measure Ca2+ activity and membrane potential.
  • Analyzed myocardial samples from patients with and without ventricular hypertrophy before and after strophanthidin exposure.

Main Results:

  • Ventricular hypertrophy led to a greater increase in diastolic Ca2+ levels upon strophanthidin exposure compared to non-hypertrophied samples.
  • The increase in Ca2+ induced by strophanthidin was inversely proportional to the myocardial mass in hypertrophied hearts.

Conclusions:

  • The extent of ventricular hypertrophy dictates the digitalis-induced changes in intracellular Ca2+ within the human myocardium.
  • Findings highlight the importance of considering myocardial hypertrophy when assessing digitalis treatment outcomes.

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