Assessment of myocardial angiogenesis and vascularity in small animal models

Therapies that aim to prevent myocardial tissue from dying or to regenerate new myocardium all rely on the preservation or growth of a functional vasculature. The amount of blood that supplies the myocardium is dependent on the number and nature of the microvessels, as well as the ability of the arteries to supply blood and the veins to remove it. All of these factors can be assessed when success of an experimental therapy is being evaluated. Different kinds of information can be obtained from these different parameters, and it is important to understand what each one involves and how it can be misinterpreted. This chapter describes the various approaches to the assessment of vascularity in the heart with a focus on small animal models, dealing both with those approaches that are purely histological endpoint studies and those that are functional measurements in living animals.