title: A diet rich in unsaturated fatty acids prevents progression toward heart failure in a rabbit model of pressure and volume overload.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  During heart failure (HF), cardiac metabolic substrate preference changes from fatty acid (FA) toward glucose oxidation. This change may cause progression toward heart failure. We hypothesize that a diet rich in FAs may prevent this process, and that dietary ω3-FAs have an added antiarrhythmic effect based on action potential (AP) shortening in animals with HF.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Rabbits were fed a diet containing 1.25% (w/w) high oleic sunflower oil (HF-ω9, N=11), 1.25% fish oil (HF-ω3, N=11), or no supplement (HF-control, N=8). Subsequently, HF was induced by volume and pressure overload. After 4 months, HF-parameters were assessed, electrocardiograms were recorded, and blood and ventricular tissue were collected. Myocytes were isolated for patch clamp or intracellular Ca(2+)- recordings to study electrophysiologic remodeling and arrhythmogenesis. Both the HF-ω9 and the HF-ω3 groups had larger myocardial FA oxidation capacity than HF control. The HF-ω3 group had significantly lower mean (± SEM) relative heart and lung weight (3.3±0.13 and 3.2±0.12 g kg(-1), respectively) than HF control (4.8±0.30 and 4.5±0.23), and shorter QTc intervals (167±2.6 versus 182±6.4). The HF-ω9 also displayed a significantly reduced relative heart weight (3.6±0.26), but had similar QTc (179±4.3) compared with HF control. AP duration in the HF-ω3 group was ≈20% shorter due to increased I(to1) and I(K1) and triggered activity, and Ca(2+)-aftertransients were less than in the HF-ω9 group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dietary unsaturated FAs started prior to induction of HF prevent hypertrophy and HF. In addition, fish oil FAs prevent HF-induced electrophysiologic remodeling and arrhythmias.
authors.affiliation: Experimental Cardiology Group of the Heart Center, Institute for Health Care Research, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hester M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Den Ruijter
authors.forename: Arie O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Verkerk
authors.forename: Cees A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Schumacher
authors.forename: Sander M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Houten
authors.forename: Charly N W
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Belterman
authors.forename: Antonius
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baartscheer
authors.forename: Ingeborg A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Brouwer
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Bilsen
authors.forename: Baukje
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: de Roos
authors.forename: Ruben
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Coronel
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D022062:Electrophysiologic Techniques, Cardiac; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D023421:Models, Animal; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D004042:Dietary Fats, Unsaturated; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D002118:Calcium