Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Electrical stimulation of carotid sinus improves heart function
By Sabbah, Hani N et al.·Published in Circulation. Heart failure·2011·Department of Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Chronic electrical stimulation of the carotid sinus baroreflex improves left ventricular function and promotes reversal of ventricular remodeling in dogs with advanced heart failure.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 14 dogs with advanced heart failure were treated with a special device that electrically stimulated the carotid sinus baroreflex (CSB) to see if it could improve heart function. Over three months, the dogs receiving the CSB treatment showed a 4% improvement in heart function, while the control group actually got worse. The CSB treatment also reduced heart size and pressure, and improved heart cell health. This suggests that CSB activation can help dogs with severe heart failure feel better and may even help their hearts recover.
People also search for: dog heart failure treatment · improving heart function in dogs · carotid sinus baroreflex for dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Autonomic abnormalities exist in heart failure and contribute to disease progression. Activation of the carotid sinus baroreflex (CSB) has been shown to reduce sympathetic outflow and augment parasympathetic vagal tone. This study tested the hypothesis that long-term electric activation of the CSB improves left ventricular (LV) function and attenuates progressive LV remodeling in dogs with advanced chronic heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: Studies were performed in 14 dogs with coronary microembolization-induced heart failure (LV ejection fraction ≈25%). Eight dogs were chronically instrumented for bilateral CSB activation using the Rheos System (CVRx Inc, Minneapolis, Minn) and 6 were not and served as controls. All dogs were followed for 3 months, and none received other background therapy. During follow-up, treatment with CSB increased LV ejection fraction 4.0±2.4% compared with a reduction in control dogs of −2.8±1.0% (P<0.05). Similarly, treatment with CSB decreased LV end-systolic volume -2.5±2.7 mL compared with an increase in control dogs of 6.7±2.9 mL (P<0.05). Compared with control, CSB activation significantly decreased LV end-diastolic pressure and circulating plasma norepinephrine, normalized expression of cardiac β(1)-adrenergic receptors, β-adrenergic receptor kinase, and nitric oxide synthase and reduced interstitial fibrosis and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. CONCLUSIONS: In dogs with advanced heart failure, CSB activation improves global LV function and partially reverses LV remodeling both globally and at cellular and molecular levels.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21097604/