Calcium alternans in cardiac myocytes: Order from disorder

► Calcium alternans is a self-organized pattern from random sparks. ► Alternans arises due to interaction of randomness, recruitment, and refractoriness. ► The 3R theory is a unifying theoretical framework for calcium alternans. ► The 3R theory can reconcile inconsistences between experiments. ► The 3R theory can be used to link calcium cycling protein properties to alternans.