Considering that heart failure is associated with both cardiac arrhythmias and conformational changes of Cx43 in the heart, and that Cx43 blockade decreases sympathetic-mediated cardiac arrhythmias in non-ischemic dystrophic hearts, we hypothesized that Cx43 mimetic peptide Gap27 will improve cardiac function and reduce arrhythmogenesis in non-ischemic heart failure. Here, GJA1 is linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.