Energetics and function of the failing human heart with dilated or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Background Impaired energy metabolism in the failing human heart could be an important mechanism of functional deterioration. The purpose of this study was to assess the changes of myocardial energy metabolism in the human heart at end-stage heart failure. Materials and methods The left ventricular myocardium of patients undergoing heart transplantation due to dilated (DCM, n = 14) or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, n = 5) and non-diseased donor heart samples (n = 4) were analysed for citrate synthase (CS), enzymes of the glycolytic pathway as well as concentrations of phosphocreatine (PCr), creatine (Cr), adenine and guanine nucleotides. Results Total creatine levels (phosphocreatine + creatine) were significantly decreased (P