PRKAA1 and heart failure: Activation of AMPK has been shown to be protective as invalidation of AMPKα2 subunit [16] exacerbates left ventricular dysfunction and hypertrophy while activation of AMPK by either metformin (an antidiabetic drug) or the pharmacological AMPK activator, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside (AICAR), proved to be beneficial in the course of heart failure in dogs and mice [14, 15].