Introduction:
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is clinically characterized by an increased incidence in females and many comorbidities including type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity. Animal models accurately representing clinical HFpEF are lacking; thus, the purpose of this study was to examine left ventricular (LV) mechanics in a novel Ossabaw swine model of chronic pressure-overload (aortic-banding; AB) and T2D (Western diet; WD) using two dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE). We hypothesized that global LV strain would be decreased primarily in the longitudinal direction in WD-AB animals.
Methods:
Female Ossabaws were randomly divided into 2 groups: CON (n=5) and WD-AB (n=5). LV function and strain were measured at 1 year of age after 6 mo. of AB and 9 mo. of WD via pressure-volume relations and 2D-STE. Significance was set at P < 0.05 using t-test vs. CON.
Results:
In the WD-AB group, ejection fraction (EF%) and end diastolic volume were normal (>50%), and observed in parallel with increased LV weight, lung weight, and LV diastolic wall thickness (i.e. concentric hypertrophy). WD-AB group had increased HOMA-IR and body surface area, two common features in T2D. In WD-AB animals, although global longitudinal systolic strain rate and end systolic displacement were increased, stroke volume index was decreased. Early diastolic rotation rate was decreased, while global longitudinal late diastolic strain rate was increased in the WD-AB group. These changes, considered in parallel with an increased end diastolic pressure-volume relationship in WD-AB animals, are consistent with diastolic dysfunction. In contrast, longitudinal, radial, and circumferential early diastolic strain rates increased in the WD-AB group.
Conclusion:
Contrary to our hypothesis, LV longitudinal strain was increased during both systole and diastole, and observed in parallel with decreased early diastolic untwisting in WD-AB animals. Our results suggest alterations to LV mechanics do not preserve normal systolic and diastolic cardiac function, despite normal resting EF%, in this novel translational model of pressure-overload HF with potential relevance to human HFpEF including associated clinical comorbidities (sex, obesity, and T2D).
0257 : Cardiac function under stress conditions in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction rat model
