Subthreshold vagal stimulation suppresses ventricular arrhythmia and inflammatory response in a canine model of acute cardiac ischaemia and reperfusion
What is the central question of this study? Vagal stimulation (VS) with heart rate reduction has been performed to protect against ventricular arrhythmias for several decades. Recent studies show that subthreshold VS (SVS) suppresses atrial arrhythmias in both canine models and humans. However, it is unknown whether SVS could decrease ventricular arrhythmia during ischaemia and reperfusion. What is the main finding and its importance? Our results show that SVS without heart rate reduction is also capable of suppressing ventricular arrhythmia and inflammatory responses in a canine model of ischaemia and reperfusion. These findings suggest that SVS may serve as a novel therapeutic modality to treat ventricular arrhythmias in patients with acute myocardial infarction.
Experimental physiology