【Animal Modeling】-Visual assessment of microcirculation after acute myocardial infarction in rabbits by contrast echocardiography

  OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the blood perfusion status of the infarcted segment after acute myocardial infarction using the visual assessment method of myocardial contrast echocardiography in a rabbit model of acute myocardial infarction.

  Methods: Twenty clean-grade Japanese rabbits were randomly divided into groups to establish an acute myocardial infarction model group (group A) and a sham-operated control group (group S). The electrocardiograms were collected before and at 10 and 45 minutes after the operation, and recorded before and after the operation. Routine ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography were performed 20 min, 2 h, and 6 h after operation to comprehensively evaluate and analyze the blood perfusion of the modeled segment after acute myocardial infarction in rabbits. After the experiment, the myocardial tissue of the modeled segment was taken out for pathological examination.

  RESULTS: Conventional echocardiography showed that the range of motion of the model segment was significantly changed at different time points after ischemia, and the myocardial histology was significantly changed, indicating that the Japanese rabbit model of acute myocardial infarction was successfully established. The myocardial blood volume and perfusion velocity of the modeled segment in group A were significantly lower than those in the non-infarcted segment and the corresponding segment in group S, which were consistent with the results of conventional echocardiography and histopathology.

  Conclusion: Visual assessment of myocardial contrast echocardiography can accurately determine the blood perfusion of infarcted myocardial segments after acute myocardial infarction, and it is an effective diagnostic method.