[Heart failure - can be treated by affecting cardiac metabolism?].

Chronic heart failure is a disease of epidemic extent and has a high mortality and morbidity. Etiology is multifactorial, but the issue is that heart does not have "enough fuel" to produce energy for its work or available fuel can´t be properly utilized. Components of cardiac energy metabolism are substrate utilization, oxidative phosphorylation and ATP (adenosine triphosphate) transfer and utilization. The aim of article is to present the function of heart metabolism and how "metabolic dysfunction" contributes to heart failure. Perhaps, drug effect on heart metabolism is an approach to treatment of chronic heart failure.