Atrial arrhythmia in ageing spontaneously hypertensive rats: unraveling the substrate in hypertension and ageing.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Both ageing and hypertension are known risk factors for atrial fibrillation (AF) although the pathophysiological contribution or interaction of the individual factors remains poorly understood. Here we aim to delineate the arrhythmogenic atrial substrate in mature spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).

Methods

SHR were studied at 12 and 15 months of age (n = 8 per group) together with equal numbers of age-matched normotensive Wistar-Kyoto control rats (WKY). Electrophysiologic study was performed on superfused isolated right and left atrial preparations using a custom built high-density multiple-electrode array to determine effective refractory periods (ERP), atrial conduction and atrial arrhythmia inducibility. Tissue specimens were harvested for structural analy

SUBMITTER: Lau DH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3754972 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature