During the past three decades, every aspect of cardiomyopathy has undergone dramatic change. When examining the literature on the physiological aspects of the failing heart, one immediately recognises that South Africa has made a contribution: Brink, Bester and Lochner evaluated the possible therapeutic aspects of the Bowditch phenomenon and myocardial energetics in cardiomyopathy almost four decades ago, at a time when the condition even had another name, myocardiopathy.