Características fisiopatológicas do modelo de insuficiência cardíaca pós-infarto do miocárdio no rato

Abstract

Congestive heart failure (CHF) caused by myocardial infarction in rats is the most commonly used experimental model to study the congestive heart failure syndrome. Following myocardial necrosis, the manifestations observed in rats very satisfactorily reproduce the findings in humans with cardiac decompensation and substantiate the study of CHF pathogenesis, pathophysiology, and treatment. Two features are inadequate in the model: the high mortality rate in the first 24 hours after coronary occlusion, and the considerable diversity of myocardial infarct sizes. In this review we described methodological and pathophysiological aspects of the model, concluding with a reference to an alternative technique, which uses radio frequency electric current to produce myocardial necrosis, and evolves with low mortality rates and homogeneous infarct sizes. For years, congestive heart failure (CHF) has been among the most investigated topics in cardiology. Besides the information obtained in humans, contribution made by the research conducted in laboratory animals is also noteworthy. Among the several experimental models available, the most used is that which promotes a congestive heart syndrome by the induction of myocardial necrosis in rats. Its current popularity and the foreseen increased interest in this model stress the importance of describing the pathophysiological characteristics after myocardial infarction (MI) in rats. Recently, a valuable literature review on the rat myocardial infarction model was published in the Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia.