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Development of a Swine Model of Left Bundle Branch Block for Experimental Studies of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

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Abstract

Animal models that mimic human electrical and mechanical dyssynchrony often associated with chronic heart failure would provide an essential tool to investigate factors influencing response to cardiac resynchronization therapy. A standardized closed-chest porcine model of left bundle branch block (LBBB) was developed using 16 pigs. Radiofrequency applications were performed to induce LBBB, which was confirmed by QRS widening, a surface electrocardiogram pattern concordant with LBBB, and a prolonged activation time from endocardial. Echocardiography confirmed abnormal motion of the septum, which was not present at the baseline echocardiogram. High susceptibility of pigs to ventricular fibrillation during the endocardial ablation was overcome by applying high-rate pacing during radiofrequency applications. This is the first study to devise a closed-chest porcine model of LBBB that closely reproduces abnormalities found in patients with electrical and mechanical cardiac dyssynchrony, and provides a useful tool to investigate the basic mechanisms underlying cardiac resynchronization therapy benefits in heart failure.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Universitat de Barcelona facilities, Neus Portella (Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain) for assistance, and Elaine Lilly, Ph.D. for English editing. They also acknowledge David Andreu (Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain) and Daniel Traver (Biosense Webster, Barcelona, Spain) for their support on the electroanatomic mapping and ablation devices.

Funding

This study was supported in part by grants from the CENIT program of the Centro de Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial (cvREMOD project; CEN-20091044), and the Spanish Government, REDINSCOR RD06/0003/0008. A Doltra received a personal grant from Fundació Clinic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, Institut Clínic del Tòrax, Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Villarroel, 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

    Montserrat Rigol, Núria Solanes, Juan Fernandez-Armenta, Etelvino Silva, Adelina Doltra, Nicolas Duchateau, Luigi Gabrielli, Antonio Berruezo, Josep Brugada & Marta Sitges

  2. Sorin Group, Barcelona, Spain

    Aina Barcelo

  3. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Luigi Gabrielli

  4. ICREA—Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

    Bart Bijnens

Authors
  1. Montserrat Rigol
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  2. Núria Solanes
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  3. Juan Fernandez-Armenta
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  4. Etelvino Silva
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  5. Adelina Doltra
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  6. Nicolas Duchateau
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  7. Aina Barcelo
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  8. Luigi Gabrielli
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  9. Bart Bijnens
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  10. Antonio Berruezo
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  11. Josep Brugada
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  12. Marta Sitges
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Montserrat Rigol.

Additional information

Montserrat Rigol and Núria Solanes contributed equally to this study.

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Rigol, M., Solanes, N., Fernandez-Armenta, J. et al. Development of a Swine Model of Left Bundle Branch Block for Experimental Studies of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy. J. of Cardiovasc. Trans. Res. 6, 616–622 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12265-013-9464-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12265-013-9464-1

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