Background
Novel therapies need to be evaluated in a relevant large animal model that mimics the clinical course and treatment in a reasonable time frame. To reliably assess therapeutic efficacy, knowledge regarding the translational model and the course of disease is needed.
Conclusion
Two models of chronic MI, representative for different patient groups, can reproducibly be created through clinically relevant ischemia-reperfusion of the mid-LAD and proximal LCx.
Methods
Landrace pigs were subjected to a transient occlusion of the proximal left circumflex artery (LCx) (n = 6) or mid-left anterior descending artery (LAD) (n = 6) for 150 min. Cardiac function was evaluated before by 2D echocardiography or 3D echocardiography and pressure-volume loop analysis. At 12 weeks of follow-up the heart was excised for histological analysis and infarct size calculations.
Results
Directly following AMI, LVEF was severely reduced compared to baseline in the LAD group (-17.1 ± 1.6%, P = 0.009) compared to only a moderate reduction in the LCx group (-5.9 ± 1.5%, P = 0.02) and this effect remained unchanged during 12 weeks of follow-up.