Hearts depleted of extracellular calcium become susceptible to injury caused by repletion of extracellular calcium (calcium paradox). It has been suggested that calcium-free perfusion causes weakening of intercalated disks and that the physical stress of contracture may cause sarcolemmal membrane rupture and creatine kinase (CK) release. To further investigate this hypothesis, the effects of caffeine on contracture, cellular morphology, and CK release were studied in control and calcium-free perfused isolated rat hearts. Control hearts perfused with 2.5 mM calcium retained normal ultrastructure for long periods of perfusion. Calcium-free hearts perfused for 12 minutes developed separations of fascia adherens portions of intercalated disks but retained intact nexus junctions. Hearts subjected to 5-minute calcium-free perfusion, followed by calcium repletion, developed a massive CK release and extensive contraction band necrosis (calcium paradox). Ten millimolar caffeine, which causes rapid calcium release from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), produced contracture, but not CK release, from control hearts perfused with medium containing 2.5 mM calcium. In calcium-free perfused hearts, caffeine caused sudden CK release accompanied by contracture, development of contraction bands, wide separations of cells at intercalated disks, and sarcolemmal membrane injury. Caffeine-induced injury occurred despite 3 mM amobarbital inhibition of mitochondrial respiration. Hearts perfused with caffeine in the presence of calcium relaxed when made calcium-free and did not release CK. Addition of caffeine following calcium-free perfusion at 22 C, which protects the heart from the calcium paradox, produced a rapid, transient contracture. These results are compatible with the hypothesis that myocardial cell injury in calcium-free hearts is not dependent on repletion of extracellular calcium or mitochondrial function, but can result from contracture following caffeine-induced release of intracellular calcium from the SR.