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Updated: Aug 1, 2026
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Echocardiographic Assessment of Cardiac Anatomy and Function in Adult Rats
Published on: December 13, 2019
Cardiac function in rats selectively bred for low- and high-capacity running
S O Hussain1, J C Barbato, L G Koch
1Functional Genomics Laboratory, Medical College of Ohio, 3035 Arlington Ave., Toledo, OH 43614-5804, USA.
Summary
Genetically selected high-capacity runners (HCR) exhibit superior cardiac performance compared to low-capacity runners (LCR). However, intrinsic running capacity does not affect recovery from cardiac ischemia.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Exercise Science
- Genetics
Background:
- Artificial selective breeding created rat models of intrinsic low-capacity runners (LCR) and high-capacity runners (HCR).
- Generation 3 lines showed a 114% difference in running capacity.
- HCR ran 337% farther than LCR at exhaustion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test if HCR rats have greater isolated cardiac performance than LCR rats.
- To determine if HCR rats have more resistance to myocardial ischemic insult than LCR rats.
Main Methods:
- Used generation 3 LCR and HCR rats.
- Assessed isolated heart performance using a Langendorff-Neely working heart preparation.
- Measured cardiac output (CO) at constant preload and afterload.
- Evaluated CO recovery after 25 minutes of global ischemia.
Main Results:
- HCR hearts generated 49% more cardiac output (CO) than LCR hearts.
- Recovery of CO after global ischemia was not significantly different between LCR and HCR lines.
- Significant differences in running capacity (337%) and cardiac output (49%) were observed.
Conclusions:
- Increased cardiac performance contributes to the difference in running capacity between HCR and LCR rats.
- Genetically determined intrinsic exercise capacity does not influence recovery from global cardiac ischemia, unlike exercise training.
