Evaluation of biventricular function in the rat: a new experimental model

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Research
• Small Animal Models
• Physiology

Background:

• Increasing use of small animals in cardiovascular research presents challenges for biventricular function assessment.
• Current methods allow left ventricular (LV) evaluation in small animals but lack simultaneous right ventricle (RV) assessment.
• RV function evaluation is typically limited to larger animal models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a new model for simultaneous assessment of biventricular pressures and dimensions in adult rats.
• To overcome limitations in evaluating RV function in small animal cardiovascular research.
• To facilitate correlations between molecular biology and hemodynamics in both ventricles.

Main Methods:

• Adult Wistar rats underwent anesthesia and mechanical ventilation.
• A novel surgical approach involved catheterization of the right jugular vein, sternotomy, and pericardiotomy.
• Three crystals were strategically placed for dimension measurements, and high-fidelity catheters were inserted into both RV and LV cavities for pressure monitoring, enabling pressure-dimension loop analysis.

Main Results:

• The study successfully established a model for simultaneous biventricular pressure and dimension measurement in adult rats.
• This technique allows for comprehensive hemodynamic assessment of both ventricles within a small animal model.
• Pressure-dimension loops for both RV and LV were obtainable.

Conclusions:

• This study presents the first model for simultaneous biventricular pressure and dimension evaluation in adult rats.
• The developed model provides new avenues for linking molecular findings with hemodynamic data in both ventricles.
• This is crucial given the increasing recognition of differences between the left and right ventricles.