Ventricular arrhythmia susceptibility in a new porcine model of heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction

Abstract Introduction Sudden death secondary to ventricular arrhythmias is common in HF patients, with no effective treatment available outside of implantable cardiac defibrillators. While animal models are essential for the discovery of anti-arrhythmic drugs, no reliable large animal HF models with associated ventricular arrhythmias have been described so far. Objectives We aimed at evaluating ventricular remodeling and arrhythmia susceptibility in an HF pig model with reduced ejection fraction (EF) following myocardial infarction (MI). Methods MI was induced in 53 male Göttingen minipigs (12–15 months, 20–25 kg) by coronary embolization in mid-left anterior descending and mid-left circumflex coronary arteries using endovascular coils. Seven other pigs underwent sham operation and were used as control. Two weeks after surgery, cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography, and animals were included based on EF