The late sodium current in heart failure: pathophysiology and clinical relevance

Large and growing body of data suggest that an increased late sodium current (I Na,late ) can have a significant pathophysiological role in heart failure and other heart diseases. The first goal of this article is to describe how I Na,late functions under physiological circumstances. The second goal is to show the wide range of cellular mechanisms that can increase I Na,late in cardiac disease, and also to describe how the up‐regulated I Na,late contributes to the pathophysiology of heart failure. The final section of the article discusses the possible use of I Na,late ‐modifying drugs in heart failure, on the basis of experimental and preclinical data.