Intramyocardial injection of hydrogel with high interstitial spread does not impact action potential propagation.

ABSTRACT: Injectable biomaterials have been evaluated as potential new therapies for myocardial infarction (MI) and heart failure. These materials have improved left ventricular (LV) geometry and ejection fraction, yet there remain concerns that biomaterial injection may create a substrate for arrhythmia. Since studies of this risk are lacking, we utilized optical mapping to assess the effects of biomaterial injection and interstitial spread on cardiac electrophysiology. Healthy and infarcted rat hearts were injected with a model poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel with varying degrees of interstitial spread. Activation maps demonstrated delayed propagation of action potentials across the LV epicardium in the hydrogel-injected group when compared to saline and no-injection groups. However, the degree of

SUBMITTER: Suarez SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4772723 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature