Papillary muscles from hypertrophied rat hearts develop significantly greater maximum tension per unit weight than those from normal hearts.
Papillary muscle strips from hypertrophied left ventricles of 17 rats were tested for tension developed in response to electrical stimulation in a perfused, oxygenated, isometric muscle chamber. The maximum tension developed was significantly greater per unit weight than that developed by papillary muscles from normal ventricles. Greater tension was also developed by the papillary muscles from hypertrophied hearts when tested with an anaerobic perfusate.
Kerr et al. (Sun,) studied this question.