Thoracic massage permits use of echocardiography in unanesthetized rats.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study reported here was to investigate whether massage-like stroking of the thorax and cranial portion of the abdomen might relax unanesthetized rats sufficiently to permit in vivo echocardiography.


METHODS
Nine-month-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were first conditioned to being held by hand for 10 to 15 min twice a day for seven to 10 days. During each session, the animal was placed in supine position, and the thorax and cranial abdominal area were gently stroked (approx. 5 cm/s, 12 to 14 times/min). After the conditioning period, echocardiography was initiated. We obtained serial transthoracic two-dimensional (2-D) and M-mode echocardiograms from nine-month-old SHR that were treated with isoproterenol (60 mg/kg of body weight, s.c., x 1, followed by 30 mg/kg/d x3), and from old (20 to 24 months old) SHR, studied when labored breathing, suggestive of heart failure, was evident (SHR-F). Measurements included end-diastolic volume (EDV) and end-systolic volume (ESV).


RESULTS
In the isoproterenol-treated SHR, mean +/- SD echocardiographically derived EDV (2-D, 0.29 +/- 0.05; M-mode, 0.28 +/- 0.01 ml) was not significantly different from volume at necropsy (0.33 +/- 0.04 ml). Measurements of EDV and ESV by use of M-mode and 2-D echocardiography were significantly correlated (EDV R2 = 0.48, P = 0.05; ESV R2 = 0.39, P = 0.02). Echocardiography revealed pleuropericardial effusions (4/6), atrial thrombi (5/6), and left and right ventricular enlargement (6/6). The EDV and ESV were increased fivefold (P < 0.01) and threefold (P < 0.05), respectively, versus values for SHR not in heart failure (SHR-NF). Left ventricular ejection fraction of hearts from SHR-F was markedly decreased, compared with that in SHR-NF (44 +/- 7 versus 74 +/- 2%, respectively; P < 0.05). The presence or absence of left atrial thrombi and fluid in the thoracic cavity was confirmed at necropsy in SHR-F and SHR-NF.


CONCLUSIONS
Thoracic massage permits use of echocardiography in unanesthetized rats, thereby providing a simple, non-invasive technique for assessment of cardiac structure and function in rats without the potentially adverse effects of anesthesia.
Brooks
Wesley W
WW
VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston Massachusetts 02130, USA.
Conrad
Chester H
CH
Nedder
Arthur P
AP
Bing
Oscar H L
OH
Slawsky
Mara T
MT
D000758:Anesthesia / Q000662:veterinary*; D000818:Animals; D002316:Cardiotonic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D003243:Consciousness; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D006336:Heart Massage / Q000662:veterinary*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology; D007545:Isoproterenol / Q000494:pharmacology; D007756:Laboratory Animal Science / Q000379:methods*; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR / Q000502:physiology*; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000379:methods*
D002316:Cardiotonic Agents; D007545:Isoproterenol