Cardiac contractility

Cardiac effects of calcium → what affects calcium?

  • Catecholamines
    • Ca influx via phosphorylation of Ca channels
  • Ischaemia
    • when intracellular Ca can't release more Ca from sarcolemma
  • Hypocalcaemia (huh)
  • Temperature
    • ↓ myocardial sensitivity to calcium, and ↓ activity of actin-activated myosin ATPase

Treppe effect: ↑ contractility with ↑ HR

  • Myocyte contraction is the consequence of significant calcium influx into the myocytes
  • Relaxation is mainly due to this calcium being ejected back out of the cell, or re-sequestered into the sarcolemma
  • This expulsion of calcium is a chemical process with a finite reaction time
  • Ergo, with increased heart rate, the time left for the removal of calcium is decreased
  • Ergo, the residual calcium will increase the contractility of the myocytes wherever a high heart rate is sustained.
  • Not unique to cardiac myocytes