Ventricular dyssynchrony as a cause of structural disease in the heart of Dorper sheep.

Abstract

Ventricular dyssynchrony is a disturbance of the normal, organized electromechanical coupling of the two ventricles. This condition has many causes, such as left bundle branch block, ventricular preexcitation, right ventricular pacing and right ventricular premature ventricular complexes (PVCs). Ventricular dyssynchrony has many adverse haemodynamic effects on the left ventricle and we wanted to know whether these adverse haemodynamic effects might have any structural consequences on the left ventricles of such hearts. Six healthy Dorper wethers were subjected to numerous right ventricular PVCs to induce ventricular dyssynchrony in order to determine whether any structural consequences will occur in the left ventricles of these hearts. Myocarditis in the musculature of the left ventricles of all six these hearts was seen.