Background:
We have previously shown that 1-month treatment with ivabradine (IVA), the selective cardiac pacemaker I
f
current inhibitor, preserved myocardial perfusion and coronary perfusion reserve in post-MI middle-aged rats. However, the persistence of this cardioprotective effect after a prolonged period of IVA treatment remains to be determined.
Methods:
Acute MI was induced in 12-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats by left coronary artery ligation. Twenty four hours later, the rats with a confirmed large transmural MI (>50% of the left ventricular (LV) free wall) were randomly assigned in two experimental groups. In a first group, rats were treated with IVA
i.p.
via osmotic pumps in a dose of 10.5 mg/kg/day for 3 months (MI+IVA). In a second group, rats received placebo treatment (5% dextrose) during the same time period (MI). Sham-operated rats served as an age-matched control. At the end of experimental period, myocardial perfusion (baseline and maximal coronary conductance per 100g of tissue) and coronary perfusion reserve (fold increase between baseline and maximal coronary conductance) were determined in non-infarcted LV free wall and interventricular septum by using the neutron-activated stable isotope-labeled microsphere technique.
Results:
During 3 months of IVA treatment, heart rate in MI+IVA rats was consistently reduced compared to untreated MI rats by mean of 30.6%. Nevertheless, we found that the infarct size and the extent of LV remodeling were relatively comparable between MI and MI+IVA rats three months after surgery. Moreover, the levels of baseline and maximal coronary conductance were similar in LV free wall and septum between two experimental groups. Consequently, IVA-treated rats revealed no difference in coronary perfusion reserve as compared to untreated post-MI animals (2.22±0.46 vs. 2.59±0.41 in LV free wall and 2.30±0.59 vs. 2.68±0.44 in septum, respectively). However, the rats of both post-MI groups had markedly reduced levels of maximal coronary blood flow as compared to non-infarcted controls (p≤0.01).
Conclusion:
Our data demonstrate that long-term IVA treatment does not provide sustainable improvement in LV myocardial perfusion and coronary perfusion reserve in middle-aged rats following large MI.