A cannula is placed into the left atrium and anterograde perfusion is initiated. The heart ejects against an adjustable resistive-compliant network used as a model of the systemic vasculature. Video recordings are made of the markers on the septal wall for strain analysis. Mean aortic pressure, cardiac output and coronary flow are also measured. The preparation is stable for at least two hours after the heart is removed from the animal.
Hearts are then perfusion fixed and embedded in a plastic polymer for histology.
Measurements of focal myocyte disarray will be used to correlate with alterations in surface strain measured from the video recordings. Since collagen may also have a role in altering passive function in these hearts, tissue will also be stained with picrosirius red, a collagen-specific histologic stain. This study of the alterations in function due to FHC will lead to greater understanding of the relationship between structure and function of the normal and diseased myocardium.