The experiments were performed to determine whether the cardiac depressant action of lidocaine is directly associated with the utilization of endogenous substrates in isolated rat atria, by using citrate and bicarbonate-free medium known as potent inhibitors of phosphofructokinases (PFK) enzyme step. Citrate and bicarbonate-free medium produced negative inotropic action of isolated rat atria incubated in normal Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate glucose medium. Pyruvate and acetate increased the force of contraction of atria depressed by citrate or bicarbonate-free medium, whereas fructose was without effect indicating the inhibitory effect of citrate and bicarbonate-free medium at some point in the glycolytic pathway such as the PFK step in atria. In the absence of exogenous substrate, citrate and bicarbonate-free medium produced a marked depression of the force of substrate-depleted atria indicating that utilization of endogenous substrate above the PFK step, probably cardiac glycogen, is also impaired by citrate or bicarbonate-free medium. Lidocaine produced further depression of the contractile force of atria depressed by citrate. These results argue strongly for an additional mechanism of cardiac depression caused by lidocaine involving the sites below the PFK.