Dilated cardiomyopathy in turkeys: an animal model for the study of human heart failure

Many animal models of heart failure developed to date do not mimic pathophysiologic changes recently described in the failing human myocardium. In human endstage heart failure, abnormalities in morphology, electromechanical coupling, and myocardial energetics have been described. However, studies of human myocardium are limited by lack of appropriate controls, the fact that all patients have endstage heart failure, and exposure of patients to different therapeutic regimens. In contrast to many animal models, the myopathic turkey heart (i.e., idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy or furazolidone-induced cardiomyopathy) is similar to the myopathic human heart in terms of gross morphology, myocardial energetics, muscle physiology myofilament properties, Ca2+ metabolism, and the beta-receptor-adenylyl cyclase signaling system.