Applicability of echocardiography in volume determinations in experimental animals

A method is described for the use of echocardiography in volume determinations in the experimental animal. Suitability of the technique in both acute and chronically implanted animals was tested. Stroke volumes derived from calculations based on echo data were compared with those obtained by an electromagnetic flow probe placed around the aorta. High correlation was found in both the acute (r = 0.96, P less than 0.001) and the chronic (r = 0.89, P less than 0.001) preparations. Cardiac output computed from echocardiographic data and compared with those based on either flow probe or indicator-dilution techniques also showed a high degree of correlation in both the acute (r = 0.91 and 0.95, respectively; P less than 0.001) and chronic (r = 0.98 and 0.94, respectively, P less than 0.001) preparations. It is suggested that echocardiography, because of the potential to measure many indicators of myocardial function in addition to volume, represents a significant improvement in the techniques available for basic cardiovascular experimentation.