A canine model of chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy: characterization of regional flow-function relations

The controversy regarding the mechanism(s) of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in chronic coronary artery disease is, in part, related to the lack of an appropriate animal model for this condition. We have developed such a model by placing Ameroid constrictors on proximal portions of coronary arteries in dogs who were euthanized (mean of 6 wk) after the development of severe global LV dysfunction noted on two-dimensional echocardiography. The LV end-systolic size nearly doubled (P < 0.001) over the observation period, and the percent change in LV size from end diastole to end systole decreased by >50% (P < 0.001). Regional dysfunction was noted in 23 of 24 myocardial beds analyzed within regions showing no gross evidence of infarction. In 10 of these beds, severe dysfunction was noted without a decrease in radiolabeled microsphere-derived myocardial blood flow (MBF). In 13 myocardial beds, decrease in function was associated with a decrease in MBF (P < 0.001), with close coupling noted between percent wall thickening and MBF. In the beds that exhibited an ultimate decrease in MBF, the decrease in function preceded the decrease in MBF. In conclusion, we describe chronic LV dysfunction in a canine model of multivessel stenosis that closely mimics chronic ischemic LV dysfunction in humans. Whereas regional function is severely reduced in this model, MBF is varied in different segments and at different times during the observation period. These results provide new insights regarding flow-function relations in chronic ischemic LV dysfunction.