Effect of chronic left ventricular unloading on myocardial remodeling: Multimodal assessment of two heterotopic heart transplantation techniques.

Background: Cardiac recovery is possible by means of mechanical unloading yet remains rare. Excessive unloading-associated myocardial atrophy and fibrosis may adversely affect the process of reverse remodeling. In this study, we sought to evaluate the effect of different intensities of chronic left ventricular (LV) unloading on myocardial remodeling.