Noninvasive assessment and necropsy validation of changes in left ventricular mass in ascending aortic banded mice

Although left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy can be induced by aortic banding , noninvasive assessment of changes in LV mass In mice with a banded ascend ing aorta by using 2-dimensional (2D) images has not been previously perfor med. In this study we serially assessed changes in LV mass by 2D echocardio graphy with a newly available 12-MHz transducer in mice with a banded ascen ding aorta and validated measurements at necropsy. Estimated by echocardiog raphy, LV mass increased from 74 +/- 17 mg before banding to 191.08 +/- 54 mg at 8 weeks after banding (P < .0001), and excellent correlation was show n with postmortem measurements (r = 0.97). Furthermore, with the use of pul sed Doppler a-dimensionally guided echocardiography, noninvasive measuremen t of now velocities In the ascending aorta before and after the band at the various time points was possible. We propose that 2D echocardiography with a 12-MHz transducer is a powerful tool for serial noninvasive evaluations as an adjunct to the study of cardiac hypertrophy in the murine model.