[Evaluation of myocardial contractile function based on seismocardiographic data of rats in hypokinesia]

The possibility of seismocardiographic recording in rats has been explored and SCG time and amplitude parameters have been determined. The measurements have been performed in normal rats and hypokinetic rats with an altered cardiac contractility. The SCG data obtained in hypokinetic rats have been compared with the results derived from contractility studies by heart catheterization and subsequent calculation of contraction strength and velocity. It has been shown that the data compared are similar on hypokinetic days 1 and 5. This suggests that the seismocardiographic method of studying heart contractility function of rats is adequate for integral evaluations of the strength and velocity of cardiac contractions in chronic experiments. On hypokinetic days 15 and 30 the data obtained by catheterization and seismocardiographically are at variance. This may be attributed to muscle mass losses and variations in the rigidity of "internal" bonding.