Transient tension responses of heart muscle in Ba2+ contracture to step length changes.

To characterize mechanical properties of activated heart muscle, kitten papillary muscles in Ba2+ contracture were stretched or released stepwise, and the transient tension responses were analyzed. Various amplitudes of step length change (0.1-1.0% of Lmax) were tested from different initial lengths and at different temperatures. The tension response to either stretch or release showed four different phases, which were nearly symmetric when the input length change was 0.1% of Lmax. When the length changes was 1%, the second phase of stretch response became shorter, whereas that of release became longer. The third phase of stretch response was prolonged, whereas that of release response became obscure. The peak tension (F1) in the first phase was linearly related to the amplitude, whereas those in the second and third phase were not. Increasing temperature markedly decreased F1 and shortened the second and third phase independently of initial muscle length. These results were consistent with those properties of heart muscle in Ba2+ contracture previously characterized with sinusoidal length changes.