Energy metabolism of the heart: from basic concepts to clinical applications
H. Taegtmeyer

For all those interested in the heart, whether from a clinical or an experimental viewpoint, this review should be compulsory reading...

Role of glycolytic products in damage to ischemic myocardium. Dissociation of adenosine triphosphate levels and recovery of function of reperfused ischemic hearts
J.R. Neely, L.W. Grotyohann

In this paper, the authors describe experiments which they carried out in painstaking detail (using approximately 400 rats!), to elucidate the importance of glycolysis in ischemia...

The glucose-fatty acid cycle. Its role in insulin sensitivity and the metabolic disturbances of diabetes mellitus
P.J. Randle, P.B. Garland, C.N. Hales, E.A. Newsholme

This is one of the key papers from the “good old days of biochemistry” when regulatory mechanisms were proposed on the basis of a small amount of data and a large amount of thought...

Ultrastructural damage associated with reoxygenation of the anoxic myocardium
D.J. Hearse, S.M. Humphrey, W.G. Nayler, A. Slade, D. Border

Hearse and colleagues, in this key paper, present clear, electron microscopic evidence for the damage that occurs to the subcellular structures of the myocardium in anoxia, and more importantly, upon readmission of oxygen...

Myocardial metabolism in ischemic heart disease: basic principles and applications to imaging by positron emission tomography
P. Camici, E. Ferrannini, L.H. Opie

This review is useful for people who have insufficient time (or motivation) to wade through a hefty tome on cardiac metabolism in health and disease; if readers become inspired to learn more about the subject, they can always refer to the 77 references!...

Effects of glucose and fatty acids on myocardial ischaemia and arrhythmias
M.F. Oliver, L.H.Opie

Oliver and Opie, in this short review, essentially give us an update on the facts about the beneficial effects of glucose and the detrimental effects of free fatty acids (FFAs) as fuel sources for the ischemic myocardium...

Determinants of a protective effect of glucose and insulin on the ischemic myocardium. Effects on contractile function, diastolic compliance, metabolism, and ultrastructure during ischemia and reperfusion
C.S. Apstein, F.N. Gravino, C.C. Haudenschild

Apstein and colleagues address the question of whether “glucose plus insulin” therapy can protect the ischemic heart against damage...

Myocardial ischemia - observations, definitions and speculations
R.B. Jennings

In this short editorial, Jennings reviews the essential features of myocardial ischemia, and what is known about its metabolic and functional consequences, from both clinical observations and experimental data...

Metabolic changes during post-ischaemic reperfusion
R. Ferrari, S. Curello, A. Cargnoni, E. Condorelli, S. Belloli, A. Albertini, O. Visioli

Ferrari and colleagues investigate, in a whirlwind fashion, some of the metabolic events that occur during ischemia and lead to irreversible damage...

Glucose and palmitate oxidation in isolated working rat hearts reperfused after a period of global ischemia
G.D. Lopaschuk, M.A. Spafford, N.J. Davies, S.R. Wall

Addressing the issue of which substrate is used preferentially by the myocardium during postischemic reperfusion, the authors of this paper rightly acknowledge that quite a number of studies have already been carried out in an attempt to resolve this issue (in dogs, pigs, and humans)...