Impaired Intracellular Calcium Buffering Contributes to the Arrhythmogenic Substrate in Atrial Myocytes From Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Alterations in the buffering of intracellular Ca, for which myofilament proteins play a key role, have been shown to promote cardiac arrhythmia. It is interesting that although studies report atrial myofibrillar degradation in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (persAF), the intracellular Ca buffering profile in persAF remains obscure. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the intracellular buffering of Ca and its potential arrhythmogenic role in persAF.