Fig. 1.

a Heart failure is associated with an increase in wall stress as a result of increased cardiac dimensions and loss of wall thickness, which will stretch all myocardial cells, as schematically shown for a cardiac fibroblast. b Cardiac myocytes contract and enlarge periodically during systole and diastole, respectively. This will specifically affect cardiomyocyte membrane shapes: During systole costameres are more exposed to the cytosol, which will increase this type of signaling. Parts of the membranes between neighboring Z-discs bulge out and thus increase local membrane to volume ratios, which is predicted to decrease RTK-mediated signaling (and vice versa in diastole)