Echocardiographic Assessment of Cardiac Function in Mouse Models of Heart Disease

Echocardiography is a cornerstone technique for evaluating cardiac function in preclinical research using murine models. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the echocardiographic approaches employed to assess ventricular function in mouse models of heart disease, highlighting methodological principles, technical challenges, and the translational relevance of findings. Various echocardiographic modalities enable the precise evaluation of systolic and diastolic function. This article emphasizes standardization in image acquisition and analysis to minimize inter-operator variability and ensure reproducibility. It details echocardiographic parameters and strain imaging across commonly used mouse models of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, diabetic cardiomyopathy, hypertensive heart disease, and ischemic heart disease. Furthermore, it explores the advantages and limitations of anesthesia, probe positioning, and physiological monitoring during imaging. The integration of advanced imaging technologies such as Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography (STE), Three-Dimensional (3-D), and Four-Dimensional (4-D) echocardiography is discussed as a promising avenue for enhancing data quality and improving the translational potential of preclinical cardiac studies.