The contractile properties of cardiac muscle cells are determined by the molecular composition of the contractile apparatus and in particular by the structure of myosin. Three isoforms of myosin heavy chains have been recently identified in the mammalian heart: alpha and beta myosin heavy chains, present in atrial and ventricular myocardium, and nodal myosin heavy chain, present in sino-atrial and atrio-ventricular nodes. The alpha and beta isoforms are coded by two distinct genes whose expression is tissue and developmental stage-specific, and can be regulated by hormonal and mechanical factors. The relative concentration of the two isoforms is correlated with the maximal velocity of shortening and with the energy cost of force generation. In hyperthyroid myocardium the predominant isoform is the alpha, high ATPase myosin heavy chain and the contraction is fast but less economical; in hypothyroid and in mechanically overloaded myocardium the beta, low ATPase isoform is predominant and the contraction is slower and more economical.