Ischemic heart disease is a socially significant disease. Despite the many methods of diagnosis and treatment available, it remains the leading cardiovascular cause of death in Europe.
The availability of a specific and sensitive method for the early diagnosis of myocardial ischemia, to be applied during an invasive examination, would lead to a significant decrease in mortality while simultaneously reducing the financial means for percutaneous interventions.
The hypothesis of an "ischemic cascade" is generally accepted. According to her, myocardial ischemia is a series of changes that always follow the same order: diastolic, followed by systolic dysfunction, then electrocardiogram (ECG) changes, and finally a sensation of chest pain. The occurrence of each subsequent stage indicates progressive myocardial damage. This concept is the basis of the recommendations of the guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of patients with acute coronary syndrome and stable angina pectoris. It is based on clinical observations. Until now, there has been no description of the experimental conduct of a simultaneous evaluation of the biochemical, mechanical, and electrical processes occurring during ischemia.
We hypothesize that electrical and mechanical events occur simultaneously, due to biochemical changes that equally affect both types of processes in the myocardium.
We offer animal model experiments for:
(1) validation of a 0.014” coronary guidewire for simultaneous assessment of electrical and mechanical changes occurring in the heart during acute ischemia,
(2) experimental testing of the «ischemic cascade» in the myocardium in acute ischemia, i.e. the temporal relationship between electrical and mechanical processes.
The successful performance of the described experiments could completely change the understanding of the ischemic process of the myocardium from a scientific point of view. This will make future studies in the field much more accurate. The practical significance of the experiments is the creation and validation of a new method for early detection of ischemia. This could save lives and reduce healthcare costs.
