Autonomic responses during acute myocardial infarction in the rat model: implications for arrhythmogenesis
-
Theofilos M. Kolettis
,
Marianthi Kontonika
Abstract
Background
Autonomic responses participate in the pathophysiology of acute myocardial infarction, but their precise time course remains unclear. Here, we investigated the autonomic activity and ventricular tachyarrhythmias in conscious, unrestrained rats post-infarction.
Methods
The left coronary artery was ligated in 12 Wistar rats, and six rats were sham operated, followed by 24-h electrocardiographic recording via implanted telemetry transmitters. Sympathetic activity was assessed by detrended fluctuation analysis and vagal activity by time- and frequency-domain analysis of heart rate variability. The duration of the ventricular tachyarrhythmias was measured, and voluntary motion served as a marker of heart failure.
Results
In sham-operated rats, heart rate and sympathetic activity remained low, whereas vagal activity rose progressively after the fourth hour. Post-ligation, medium-sized antero-septal necrosis was observed, reaching ~20% of the left ventricular volume; tachyarrhythmias were frequent, displaying a bimodal curve, and motion counts were low. Vagal activity decreased early post-ligation, coinciding with a high incidence of tachyarrhythmias, but tended to rise subsequently in rats with higher motion counts. Sympathetic activity increased after the third hour, along with a second tachyarrhythmia peak, and remained elevated throughout the 24-h period.
Conclusions
Vagal withdrawal, followed by gradual sympathetic activation, may participate in arrhythmogenesis during acute myocardial infarction.
Acknowledgment
We thank Ms. Eleni Goga, BA, for coordinating this project.
Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: This work was supported by the Cardiovascular Research Institute, Ioannina, Greece.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.
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©2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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- Phytotherapy
- Role of reactive oxygen species–total antioxidant capacity status in Telfairia occidentalis leaves–associated spermatoprotective effect: a pointer to fatty acids benefit
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- Hematology and erythrocyte osmotic fragility of the Franquet’s fruit bat (Epomops franqueti)
- Behavior and Neuroprotection
- Haloperidol-induced parkinsonism is attenuated by varenicline in mice
- Antioxidant-mediated neuroprotection by Allium schoenoprasum L. leaf extract against ischemia reperfusion-induced cerebral injury in mice
- Effects of acetone extract of Cola nitida on brain sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase activity and spatial memory in healthy and streptozotocin-induced diabetic female Wistar rats
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Letter to the Editor
- Blister-packed levothyroxine sodium or bottle-packed levothyroxine sodium
- Metabolism
- Comparative hypoglycemic potentials and phytochemical profiles of 12 common leafy culinary vegetables consumed in Nsukka, Southeastern Nigeria
- Infection
- The effects of oral pregabalin on post-Lichtenstein herniorrhaphic pain: a randomized clinical trial
- Cardiovascular Function
- Influence of age and gender on blood pressure variability and baroreflex sensitivity in a healthy population in the Indian sub-continent
- Autonomic responses during acute myocardial infarction in the rat model: implications for arrhythmogenesis
- Phytotherapy
- Role of reactive oxygen species–total antioxidant capacity status in Telfairia occidentalis leaves–associated spermatoprotective effect: a pointer to fatty acids benefit
- Antidiabetic and renoprotective effect of Anogeissus acuminata leaf extract on experimentally induced diabetic nephropathy
- Oxidative Stress
- Aged coconut oil with a high peroxide value induces oxidative stress and tissue damage in mercury-treated rats
- Anti-ulcerogenic effect of the methanol extract of Chasmanthera dependens (Hochst) stem on male Wistar rats
- Hematological Profile
- Evaluation of hematological alterations after therapeutic use of dipyrone in healthy adults: a prospective study
- Hematology and erythrocyte osmotic fragility of the Franquet’s fruit bat (Epomops franqueti)
- Behavior and Neuroprotection
- Haloperidol-induced parkinsonism is attenuated by varenicline in mice
- Antioxidant-mediated neuroprotection by Allium schoenoprasum L. leaf extract against ischemia reperfusion-induced cerebral injury in mice
- Effects of acetone extract of Cola nitida on brain sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase activity and spatial memory in healthy and streptozotocin-induced diabetic female Wistar rats
- Case Report
- Conservative treatment of postoperative chylothorax: a case report
- Short Communication
- Improved serotonergic neurotransmission by genistein pretreatment regulates symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice
