Calcium (Ca) is a universal intracellular second messenger. In muscle, Ca is best known for
its role in contractile activation. However, in recent years the critical role of Ca in other
myocyte processes has become increasingly clear. This review focuses on Ca signaling in
cardiac myocytes as pertaining to electrophysiology (including action potentials and
arrhythmias), excitation-contraction coupling, modulation of contractile function, energy
supply-demand balance (including mitochondrial function), cell death, and transcription …