New research has shown that by changing the time course of voltage change early when the heart cell contracts it is possible to both withhold a potentially lethal electrical disturbance and improve the strength of cardiac contraction in heart failure at the same time.
The research led by the University of Bristol and funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) is published today [20 January] in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Around 26 million people worldwide suffer from heart failure, with more than 50 per cent dying suddenly most likely due to the spontaneous onset of a heart rhythm problem, known as an arrhythmia. The link between the electrical signal that triggers the heart cell to contract (action potential) and consequent ability of the heart to pump blood has been known for nearly 40 years but understanding how and why the heart's electrical rhythm becomes disturbed has remained a major research problem.
Read more at University of Bristol
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