Spinal cord stimulation improves ventricular function and reduces ventricular arrhythmias in a canine postinfarction heart failure model.
BACKGROUND
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) reduces the incidence of ventricular tachyarrhythmias in experimental models. This study investigated the effects of long-term SCS on ventricular function in a postinfarction canine heart failure model.


RESULTS
In stage 1, dogs underwent implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation and embolization of the left anterior descending artery followed by right ventricular pacing (240 ppm) for 3 weeks to produce heart failure. In stage 2, 28 surviving animals were assigned to the SCS (delivered at the T4/T5 spinal region for 2 hours 3 times a day), medicine (MED; carvedilol therapy at 12.5 mg PO BID), or control (CTRL; no therapy) group for the initial phase 1 study. In a subsequent phase 2 study, 32 stage 1 survivors were equally randomized to the SCS, MEDS (carvedilol plus ramipril 2.5 mg PO QD), SCS plus MEDS (concurrent therapy), or CTRL group. Animals were monitored for 5 weeks (phase 1) or 10 weeks (phase 2). In stage 3, all phase 1 animals underwent circumflex artery balloon occlusion for 1 hour. In the SCS group, left ventricular ejection fraction was 65+/-5% at baseline, 17+/-3% at the end of stage 1, and 47+/-7% at the end of stage 2. In the MED group, left ventricular ejection fraction was 61+/-4% at baseline, 18+/-3% at the end of stage 1, and 34+/-4% at the end of stage 2. In the CTRL group, left ventricular ejection fraction was 64+/-5% at baseline, 19+/-5% at the end of stage 1, and 28+/-3% at the end of stage 2. Left ventricular ejection fraction was significantly improved in the SCS compared with the MED and CTRL groups (P<0.001 for both). The mean number of spontaneous nonsustained ventricular tachyarrhythmias during stage 2 and the occurrence of ischemic ventricular tachyarrhythmias during stage 3 also were significantly decreased in the SCS (27+/-17 and 27%, respectively; P<0.03) and MED (58+/-42 and 33%; P<0.05) versus CTRL (88+/-52 and 76%) group. After 10 weeks in the phase 2 studies, the greatest recovery in ejection fraction was noted in the SCS (52+/-5%) and SCS+MEDS (46+/-4%) groups compared with the MEDS (38+/-2%) and CTRL (31+/-4%) groups.


CONCLUSIONS
SCS significantly improved cardiac contractile function and decreased ventricular arrhythmias in canine heart failure.
Lopshire
John C
JC
Krannert Institute of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. jlopshir@iupui.edu
Zhou
Xiaohong
X
Dusa
Cristian
C
Ueyama
Takeshi
T
Rosenberger
Joshua
J
Courtney
Nicole
N
Ujhelyi
Michael
M
Mullen
Thomas
T
Das
Mithilesh
M
Zipes
Douglas P
DP
D000818:Animals; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial / Q000379:methods*; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016276:Ventricular Function / Q000502:physiology*