To study the contribution of myocardial energy reserve to the deterioration of cardiac function during the development of heart failure, we defined energy reserve via the creatine kinase (CK) reaction and the isovolumic contractile performance in hearts of cardiomyopathic hamsters at the ages of 1.5, 4, 17, 30 and 43 weeks and in age-matched normal hamsters. Energy reserve via the CK reaction was estimated by the product of total CK activity and the content of total creatine in the heart. Isovolumic contractile performance was measured as rate pressure product (RPP, 10(3) mmHg/min) in isolated hearts. Contractile reserve was assessed as the increase of RPP elicited by high calcium stimulation. Compared to the controls, decreases in total CK activity and content of total creatine were observed in hearts of 17-, 30- and 43-week-old cardiomyopathic hamsters. These changes were not observed in the skeletal muscle. Although the decrease of baseline RPP first occurred at the age of 30 weeks (11.5 +/- 0.9 v 20.5 +/- 0.8, P < 0.05), the contractile reserve was already reduced at the age of 17 weeks (9.9 +/- 1.3 v 23.6 +/- 1.9, P < 0.05). A linear relationship was found between the energy reserve via creatine kinase reaction and the contractile reserve of the heart (r2 = 0.85). Furthermore, concomitant decreases in the CK reaction velocity and the contractile reserve were observed in cardiomyopathic hearts, suggesting that depletion of energy reserve may contribute to the development of heart failure.