Laser-mediated reversal of cardiac expansion after myocardial infarction

Autor: Peter Whittaker
Rok vydání: 1999
Předmět:
Zdroj: Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. 25:198-206
ISSN: 1096-9101
0196-8092
DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9101(1999)25:3<198::aid-lsm2>3.0.co;2-r
Popis: Background and Objectives A complication of transmural myocardial infarction is infarct expansion, which can lead to the development of heart failure. However, the necrotic muscle is replaced by collagen, a material known to shrink when heated. Thus, the hypothesis was that thermally-induced scar shrinkage could reverse infarct expansion. Study Design/Materials and Methods Four weeks after transmural infarcts were produced by coronary occlusion, rats were randomized to control or treatment with a neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser. The epicardial scar surface was irradiated until shrinkage was observed. Thirty minutes later, hearts were excised and fixed at a distending pressure of 15 mm Hg, left ventricular cavity volume was measured, and histologic analysis was performed. Results Cavity volume was reduced by laser treatment (0.72 ± 0.07 ml vs. 0.54 ± 0.05 ml; P= 0.044). In addition, treatment resulted in thicker scars, a leftward shift of the heart's electrical axis, and straightening of collagen fibers. Conclusion Laser treatment resulted in thermally-mediated scar shrinkage, which reversed infarct expansion and reduced cavity volume. Lasers Surg. Med. 25:198–206, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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