Ventricular remodeling after cardiomyoplasty in heart failure sheep: passive and dynamic effects

Background. Recent reports claim that cardiomyoplasty (CMP) has a girdling effect on the left ventricle, to prevent dilatation and functional deterioration, but the mechanism of its long-term effects on the native heart is not known. We compared the relative role of CMP’s active squeezing and passive girdling in chronically failing hearts.

Methods. After induction of stable heart failure (left ventricular ejection FRACTION = 27% ± 7%) by staged coronary microembolization, CMP was performed in 11 of 18 sheep. After 8 weeks pacing training of the latissimus dorsi muscle (LDM), cardiac assist was begun with 1:2 synchronous bursts in 6 sheep (d-CMP, N = 6), and the LDM in the passive group (p-CMP, N = 5) remained unstimulated. Four (base line) and 30 weeks after induction of heart failure, the pressure-volume relationship was derived.

Results. After 30 weeks in d-CMP the slope (E_max) of the end-systolic pressure-volume relationship increased by 66% ± 55% (p < 0.05) and external work efficiency by 48% ± 41% (p < 0.01). In the passive CMP and control groups, slope and external work efficiency were unchanged. Conversely, left ventricular end-diastolic volume decreased (−14% ± 12%, p < 0.05) in the dynamic CMP group compared with a static course in the passive CMP group (3% ± 10%, p > 0.05) and an increase (18% ± 15%, p < 0.05) in controls.

Conclusions. Dynamic CMP improved native heart’s contractility and external work efficiency. In addition, whereas passive CMP has simply a girdling effect, dynamic CMP also induces reverse left ventricular chamber remodeling.