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Evaluation of Electrocardiogram Parameters and Heart Rate Variability During Blood Pressure Elevation by Phenylephrine in Cirrhotic Rats

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Abstract

Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy is a myocardial disease that may go undetected in the early stages due to peripheral vasodilatation. The aim of the study was to evaluate the electrocardiogram (ECG) and heart rate variability (HRV) after raising blood pressure by phenylephrine injection in rats with liver cirrhosis. Twenty male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into the Sham and common bile duct ligation (CBDL) groups. After 44 days, animals were anesthetized and the right femoral artery and vein catheterized. After a steady-state period, a bolus injection of phenylephrine (PHE, 10 μg/μl/IV, baroreflex maneuver) was followed by a slow injection of PHE (100 μg/ml/5 min/IV, sustained maneuver). Rapid and slow injections of PHE resulted in a greater increase in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and a weaker bradycardia response in the CBDL group than in the Sham group. ECG analysis showed increased QT, QTc, JT, and T peak to T end in the CBDL group, which remained unchanged after PHE injection. On the other hand, the parasympathetic indices of the HF band and RMSSD, and the sympathetic index of the LF band after PHE injection were lower in the CBDL group than in the Sham group.

ECG data indicated prolonged ventricular depolarization and repolarization, independent of blood pressure levels in cirrhosis. On the other hand, after PHE injection, the parasympathetic and sympathetic components of HRV decreased, regardless of the duration of elevated blood pressure. We suggest that HRV analysis can provide a useful approach to assess cardiac dysfunction associated with elevated blood pressure in cirrhosis.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

ALT:

Alanine Aminotransferase

AST:

Aspartate Aminotransferase

CI:

Cardiac Index

CBDL:

Common Bile Duct Ligation

Hb:

Hemoglobin

HR:

Heart Rate

HRV:

Heart Rate Variability

HF:

High Frequency

LF:

Low Frequency

MAP:

Mean Arterial Pressure

PLT:

Platelet

PHE:

Phenylephrine

QTc:

Corrected QT

RBC:

Red Blood Cell Count

RMSSD:

The Root Mean Square of Successive RR Interval Differences

SDRR:

The Standard Deviation of RR Interval

VR:

Vascular Resistance

WBC:

White Blood Cell Count

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Funding

This work is supported by the Research Council of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences and the Research Center for Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Shiraz, Iran, grant No 97–01-01–18349 for acquiring an MSc degree in physiology by M. Khoram.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Farzaneh Ketabchi & Mohammadreza Khoram

  2. Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Amirreza Dehghanian

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  1. Farzaneh Ketabchi
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  2. Mohammadreza Khoram
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  3. Amirreza Dehghanian
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Contributions

F.K. and A.D. designed the research outline. M.K. and A.D. performed experiments. F.K. and M.K. extracted data from Power Lab system and exported data to Excel. F.K. and M.K. prepared figures and tables, calculated and analyzed data. F.K. prepared the draft of manuscript. F.K. and A.D. finalized the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Farzaneh Ketabchi.

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The author has no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethical approval

All experimental procedures were approved by the Center for Comparative and Experimental Medicine and the Ethical Committee of Animal Care at the university (Code: IR.SUMS.REC.1398.265).

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Handling Editor: Gerrit Frommeyer.

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Ketabchi, F., Khoram, M. & Dehghanian, A. Evaluation of Electrocardiogram Parameters and Heart Rate Variability During Blood Pressure Elevation by Phenylephrine in Cirrhotic Rats. Cardiovasc Toxicol 24, 321–334 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12012-024-09839-4

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