Structural and functional characteristics of rat hearts with and without myocardial infarct. Initial experience with Doppler echocardiography.
OBJECTIVE
To assess by Doppler echocardiography the structural and functional alterations of rat heart with surgical induced extensive myocardial infarction.


METHODS
Five weeks after surgical ligature of the left coronary artery, 38 Wistar-EPM rats of both sexes, 10 of them with extensive infarction, undergone anatomical and functional evaluation by Doppler echocardiography and then euthanized for anatomopathological analysis.


RESULTS
Echocardiography was 100% sensible and specific to anatomopathological confirmed extensive miocardial infarction. Extensive infarction lead to dilatation of left ventricle (diastolic diameter: 0.89 cm vs.0.64 cm; systolic: 0. 72 cm vs. 0.33 cm) and left atrium (0.55 cm vs. 0.33 cm); thinning of left ventricular anterior wall (systolic: 0.14 cm vs. 0.23 cm, diastolic: 0.11 cm vs. 0.14 cm); increased mitral E/ A wave relation (6.45 vs. 1.95). Signals of increased end diastolic ventricle pressure, B point in mitral valve tracing in 62.5% and signs of pulmonary hypertension straightening of pulmonary valve (90%) and notching of pulmonary systolic flow (60%) were observed in animals with extensive infarction.


CONCLUSIONS
Doppler echocardiography has a high sensitivity and specificity for detection of chronic extensive infarction. Extensive infarction caused dilatation of left cardiac chambers and showed in Doppler signals of increased end diastolic left ventricular pressure and pulmonary artery pressure.
Moisés
V A
VA
Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 04023-900, Brazil.
Ferreira
R L
RL
Nozawa
E
E
Kanashiro
R M
RM
Campos
O
O
Andrade
J L
JL
Carvalho
A C
AC
Tucci
P J
PJ
D000820:Animal Diseases; D000818:Animals; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D009929:Organ Size; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging