Bilateral sympathectomy protects left ventricle against post-infarction remodelling

Method Male Wistar rats (300 ± 50g) were anesthetized and, after left thoracotomy, MI was induced by ligation of left anterior descending (LAD) coronary. Sham rats were submitted only to thoracotomy. One week thereafter, MI rats were randomly submitted to left (LS) or bilateral (BS) sympathectomy by chemical ablation of stellate ganglion. Eight weeks after LAD ligation, the ventricular function was evaluated by conductance microcatheter technique. Stroke work (SW), cardiac output (CO), systolic volume (SV), end-systolic volume (ESV), end-diastolic volume (EDV), ejection fraction (EF) and dP/dt max were determined at baseline and after stimulation with dobutamine. Infarct size was determined by epicardial and endocardial infarct arc lengths.