Echocardiographically detected myocardial infarction in the mouse.

The ability to obtain high-quality echocardiographic images of the heart in a small mammal such as the mouse would enable investigators to noninvasively and serially assess cardiac function and identify focal lesions. We recently had the opportunity to perform noninvasive high-frequency M-mode echocardiography in a mouse that had a focal area of left ventricular hypokinesis involving the ventral wall. Postmortem histologic examination revealed lateral and ventrolateral wall infarction with fibrotic replacement of the ventricular wall and reactive hypertrophy of surrounding myocytes in noninfarcted zones. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of noninvasive echocardiography identification of a myocardial infarction in the mouse and further high-lights the potential utility of this technique.