Why the study?
Preclinical animal models remain essential for studying cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias, but a variety of methodological approaches and parameters exist across the whole animal, whole heart, and tissue levels.
This document establishes standardized guidelines and best practices for assessing cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias in small animal models.
Establishes standardized methods for arrhythmia assessments in small animal models; extends consensus on best practices to enhance research reproducibility.
Cardiac arrhythmias are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although recent advances in cell-based models, including human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CM), are contributing to our understanding of electrophysiology and arrhythmia mechanisms, preclinical animal studies of cardiovascular disease remain a mainstay. Over the past several decades, animal models of cardiovascular disease have advanced our understanding of pathological remodeling, arrhythmia mechanisms, and drug effects and have led to major improvements in pacing and defibrillation therapies. There exist a variety of methodological approaches for the assessment of cardiac electrophysiology and a plethora of parameters may be assessed with each approach. This guidelines article will provide an overview of the strengths and limitations of several common techniques used to assess electrophysiology and arrhythmia mechanisms at the whole animal, whole heart, and tissue level with a focus on small animal models. We also define key electrophysiological parameters that should be assessed, along with their physiological underpinnings, and the best methods with which to assess these parameters.
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Ripplinger et al. (2022) conducted a review in Cardiac arrhythmias. This review provides guidelines and best practices for the assessment of cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmia mechanisms at the whole animal, whole heart, and tissue level in small animal models.
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