Does a suitable animal model for research on partial left ventriculectomy exist? Animal models for PLV.

Partial left ventriculectomy is a new surgical option quickly introduced into clinical use worldwide for treating end-stage heart failure in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Due to the overwhelming success of this new kind of surgical treatment for dilated cardiomyopathy, experimental research on the physiological and pathophysiological basis was initially not performed. Now, demands for an appropriate animal model have arisen more and more since the outcome of patients treated by partial left ventriculectomy has differed considerably. This review summarizes available experimental models for heart failure in large animals, and discusses their suitability for research on partial left ventriculectomy.