Quantitative and qualitative analysis of heart mitochondria for evaluating the degree of myocardial injury utilizing atomic force microscopy

► We quantitatively evaluated the morphological differences in heart mitochondria. ► The myocardial injury was controlled with transient and permanent ischemic time. ► The degree of swelling was correlated with that of ischemic injury. ► The outer membranes of mitochondria were broken before they became swollen. ► Shape parameters could be effective to evaluate the degree of myocardial injury.