Surgical models of hypertrophy and heart failure: Myocardial infarction and transverse aortic constriction

The heart responds to sustained insults such as ischaemia and pressure overload with a dynamic remodelling process that ultimately leads to heart failure. This chronic response involving interaction of multiple organ systems necessitates the use of in vivo models, and the rat has a strong track record of translational research in this field. This review will discuss the common surgical models of myocardial infarction and aortic constriction in rats, and their increasing use in mice.

Section editor:Steve Pogwizd – University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA