Animal Models of Chronic Right Ventricular Stress and Failure

Animal models of diseases are of pivotal importance for the investigation of the normal organ function, the pathobiology of frequent and rare disorders as well as for preclinical proof of principle studies. It has been noticed that there are substantial gaps between our knowledge and understanding of left and right heart failure. To a large extent the concepts underlying right ventricular failure (RVF) have been borrowed from models of left heart failure or extrapolated from models of acute RVF. Today, several models of pulmonary hypertension are used by investigators and the aim of this chapter is to review current models of adaptive and maladaptive right ventricular hypertrophy in small and large animals. We discuss the pros and cons of each model depending on the particular disease aspect which the investigator attempts to reproduce, and we make a case for the development of new animal models of chronic RVF.