Evidence of Echocardiography Validity in Model Experiments on Small Animals

Dynamic echocardiographic monitoring in rats subjected to forced alcoholization showed the formation of disorders in intracardiac hemodynamics characteristic of ethanol cardiomyopathy formed by the end of 24-week continuous ethanol consumption. The results of echocardiographic monitoring were confirmed by histological and morphometric studies demonstrating fatty infiltration of the myocardium pathognomonic for this condition and bifocal dilatation of cardiac ventricles. These results persuasively demonstrate that echocardiographic studies on small animals are valid and can be used for search for cardiotropic drugs and studies of the mechanisms of their activities.