Experimental cardiac hypertrophy in rabbits after aortic stenosis or incompetence or both

Four different models of experimental cardiac hypertrophy were compared : abdominal or thoracic aortic stenosis, aortic incompetence and aortic incompetence associated with a thoracic aortic stenosis. After 3 months the ventricular weight of these 4 models reaches +60% +/- 24; +23 +/- 4; +54% +/- 10 and +83% +/- 14. The maximal increase of left ventricular weight (+94% +/- 15) was obtained with the two-step overloading model. Most of the animals had an increase in the right ventricle and lung weights. The DNA content and the protein myofibrillar protein synthesis were both increased in aortic stenosis and were normal in aortic insufficiency. So far the only way to increase the heart weight experimentally more than 60%, is to combine two lesions.