Abstract 13160: Low-intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Enhances Angiogenesis and Ameliorates Contractile Cardiac Function in Pressure-Overloaded Hearts in Mice

Introduction: Chronic pressure overload causes relative ischemia with resultant left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Because the number of patients with chronic heart failure of ischemic origin is increasing worldwide, development of novel therapeutic strategies for those patients are needed. We have previously demonstrated that low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) improves myocardial ischemia in a pig model of chronic myocardial ischemia through enhanced myocardial angiogenesis. We also have recently reported that the LIPUS ameliorates post-MI LV remodeling in a mouse model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In the present study, we thus examined whether LIPUS also ameliorates contractile cardiac function in pressure-overloaded hearts in mice. Methods and Results: Chronic LV pressure overload was induced with transverse aortic constriction (TAC) in mice. The heart was treated with either placebo or LIPUS three times in the first week after TAC and was subsequently repeated once a week for 8 weeks. At...