Isolated Left Atrium Morphofunctional Study of an Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension Model in Rats

BACKGROUNDThe high incidence of atrial arrhythmias in pulmonary hypertension (PH) might be associated with poor prognosis, and the left atrium (LA) may play a role in this. An important finding in PH studies is that LA remodeling is underestimated.OBJECTIVEThis study investigated LA morphology and mechanical function, as well as the susceptibility to develop arrhythmias in a monocrotaline-induced PH (MCT-PH) model.METHODSWistar rats aged 4 weeks received 50 mg/kg of MCT. Electrocardiography and histology analysis were performed to evaluate the establishment of the MCT-PH model. The tissue was mounted in an isolated organ bath to characterize the LA mechanical function.RESULTSCompared with the control group (CTRL), the MCT-PH model presented LA hypertrophy and changes in cardiac electrical activity, as evidenced by increased P wave duration, PR and QT interval in MCT-PH rats. In LA isolated from MCT-PH rats, no alteration in inotropism was observed; however, the time to peak contraction was delayed in the experimental MCT-PH group. Finally, there was no difference in arrhythmia susceptibility of LA from MCT-PH animals after the burst pacing protocol.CONCLUSIONThe morphofunctional remodeling of the LA did not lead to increased susceptibility to ex vivo arrhythmia after application of the burst pacing protocol.