Electrical restitution of action potential duration (APD) was determined in Purkinje (n = 8) and ventricular muscle (n = 6) fibers at two different basic cycle lengths (BCL, 1,500 and 500 ms). Restitution curves, normalized for the longest APD (the plateau of restitution), fitted the sum of a fast (T1) and a slow (T2) exponential component. The T1 was shorter in ventricular muscle than Purkinje fibers (89 +/- 5 and 143 +/- 9; mean +/- SE, P less than 0.05), whereas the T2 did not differ (1,448 +/- 231 and 1,439 +/- 211). The BCL altered the APD value during the plateau of restitution but did not change the two exponential components. In both fiber types, the relation between APD and BCL during steady state fitted a hyperbolic curve that predicts the achievement of the maximum APD at long BCL. The restitution curves crossed the steady-state curve at two points outlining three different zones of APD intervals: early premature, late premature, and postmature. The APD during restitution was longer than the steady state in the late premature zone and shorter than the steady-state APD in the post-mature and early premature zones. The APD per se, independent of BCL, did not influence the kinetics of restitution in Purkinje fibers.