Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Age-Associated Changes In Hearts Of Male Fischer 344/Brown Norway F1 Rats, Ernest Walker, Michael Nillas, Elsa Mangiarua, Sylvestre Cansino, Ryan Morrison, Romaine Perdue, William Triest, Gary Wright, Mark Studeny, Paulette Wehner, Kevin Rice, Eric Blough

Paulette S. Wehner

Aging is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy, dilatation, and fibrosis of the heart. The Fischer 344/Brown Norway F1 (F344/BNF1) rat is recommended for age-related studies by the National Institutes on Aging because this hybrid rat lives longer and has a lower rate of pathological conditions than inbred rats. However, little is known about age-associated changes in cardiac and aortic function and structure in this model. This study evaluated age-related cardiac changes in male F344/BNF1 rats using ECHO, gross, and microscopic examinations. Rats aged 6-, 30-, and 36-mo were anesthetized and two-dimensional ECHO measurements, two-dimensional guided M-mode, Doppler M-mode, and other …