Protein kinase C βII (PKCβII) levels increase in the myocardium of patients with end-stage heart failure (HF). Also targeted over-expression of PKCβII in the myocardium of mice leads to dilated cardiomyopathy associated with inflammation, fibrosis and myocardial dysfunction. These reports suggest a deleterious role of PKCβII in HF development. Using a post-myocardial infarction (MI) model of heart failure in rats, we determined the benefit of chronic inhibition of PKCβII on the progression of heart failure over a period of 6 weeks after the onset of symptoms and the cellular basis for these effects. Four weeks after MI, rats with HF signs that were treated for 6 weeks with the PKCβII selective inhibitor (βIIV5-3 conjugated to TAT47-57 alone) (3mg/kg/day) showed improved fractional shortening (from 21% to 35%) compared to control (TAT47-57 alone). Formalin-fixed mid-ventricle tissue sections stained with picrosirius red, hematoxylin-eosin and toluidine blue dyes exhibited a 150% decrease in collagen deposition, a two-fold decrease in inflammation and a 30% reduction in mast cell degranulation, respectively, in rat hearts treated with the selective PKCβII inhibitor. Further, a 90% decrease in active TGFβ1 and a significant reduction in SMAD2/3 phosphorylation indicated that the selective inhibition of PKCβII attenuates cardiac remodeling mediated by the TGF-SMAD signaling pathway. Therefore, sustained selective inhibition of PKCβII in a post-MI HF rat model improves cardiac function and is associated with inhibition of pathological myocardial remodeling.