Myocardial infarction was induced in C57BL/6 mice (Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, USA) by left coronary artery ligation as previously described [47, 48] and as is routinely performed in the University of Wisconsin Cardiovascular Physiology Core Facility. All animal procedures were performed in accordance with the guidelines of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Animal Care and Use Committee.