Selected Large-Animal Models of Ventricular Arrhythmias

Ventricular arrhythmias are among the most life-threatening cardiac rhythm disturbances. Owing to their complex pathophysiology and high mortality risk, they remain a major focus of research aimed at elucidating underlying mechanisms and improving prevention and therapeutic strategies. In this context, animal models-particularly large-animal models-are of pivotal importance because they more closely recapitulate human cardiac anatomy and electrophysiology. The most commonly used species include dogs, cats, pigs, sheep and goats. Dogs have historically played a prominent role in ventricular arrhythmia research; however, their use is increasingly constrained by legal regulations and ethical-societal considerations. Sheep and goats, although employed less frequently, have also contributed meaningfully to advances in the field. Among large-animal models, swine are regarded as especially promising, largely due to the similarity between porcine and human hearts and the feasibility of reliably inducing ventricular arrhythmias, particularly under conditions of acute ischemia associated with coronary artery occlusion. Large-animal models are also indispensable for the preclinical evaluation of novel drugs, therapeutic approaches, and medical devices prior to translation into human studies. In this article, we review selected investigations employing large-animal models of ventricular arrhythmias, with particular emphasis on the materials and methods reported in the cited literature.