The Recovery of Hibernating Hearts Lies on a Spectrum: from Bears in Nature to Patients with Coronary Artery Disease.

Clinicians often use the term "hibernating myocardium" in reference to patients with ischemic heart disease and decreased function within viable myocardial regions. Because the term is a descriptor of nature's process of torpor, we provide a comparison of the adaptations observed in both conditions. In nature, hearts from hibernating animals undergo a shift in substrate preference in favor of fatty acids, while preserving glucose uptake and glycogen.