Fig. 3.

Effect of hypothermia on contractility and Ca²⁺ handling in isolated muscle strips from failing human myocardium. a Change in force of contraction during stepwise cooling from 37 to 27°C. Stimulation frequency: 1 Hz. Average values from 16 muscle strips given in percent of the control value at 37°C. *P < 0.05 versus control (37°C). b Influence of temperature on rapid cooling contractures (RCC). Changes in the amplitude of RCCs upon cooling are given in percent of the control value at 37°C. Average values from 16 muscle strips. *P < 0.05 versus control (37°C). c Effect of ryanodine on systolic and diastolic force during mild hypothermia. Average values from 13 muscle strips. *P < 0.05 versus control (37°C). d Correlation of change in force of contraction during hypothermia with and without ryanodine. 27°C values were excluded since diastolic force increased excessively at 27°C. Scatter plot with linear regression analysis and 95% confidence interval. r = 0.75, r ² = 0.57