Correlation between the high-frequency content of the QRS on murine surface electrocardiogram and the sympathetic nerves density in left ventricle after myocardial infarction: Experimental study

Denervated post-infarct scar is arrhythmogenic. Our aim was to compare QRS frequency content in denervated and innervated left ventricular (LV) scar. In-vivo single lead ECG telemetry device was implanted in 17 heterozygous PTPσ (HET) and 7 lacking PTPσ (KO) transgenic mice. Myocardial infarction (MI) with reperfusion and sham surgery was performed. HET mice developed a denervated scar, whereas KO mice developed innervated scar. The power spectral density was used to assess the QRS frequency content. Denervated as compared to innervated post-MI scar was characterized by the higher relative contribution of 300–500 Hz (14 ± 1 vs. 9 ± 1%; P = 0.001) but reduced relative contribution of 200–300 Hz (86 ± 1 vs. 91 ± 1%; P = 0.001). Norepinephrine concentration in peri-infarct zone correlated with both 1–200 Hz (r = 0.75; P = 0.03) and 200–500 Hz QRS power (r = 0.73; P = 0.04). Sympathetic fiber density within the infarct correlated with 200–300/200–500 Hz QRS power ratio (r = 0.56; P = 0.005). Intracellular sigma peptide injections in post-MI HET mice restored the QRS power.