The total volume occupied by myocytes in the heart decreases with age, and this is accompanied by a loss of myocytes, by hypertrophy and, to a lesser extent, by hyperplasia of the remaining myocytes. There are differences between ventricles: the right ventricular myocytes have a greater capacity for replication than those of the left ventricle. The expression of genes coding for the 2 principal contractile proteins (myosin and actin) is modified, and there are strong resemblances between the phenotype of the aged heart and that of an adult heart with haemodynamic overload.