Association of neonatal hypoxia with lasting changes in left ventricular gene expression: an animal model.

Objective: Innovations in pediatric cardiovascular surgery have resulted in significant improvements in survival for children with congenital heart disease. In adults with such disease, however, surgical morbidity and mortality remain significant. We hypothesized that hypoxemia in early life causes lasting changes in gene expression in the developing heart and that such changes may persist into later life, affecting the physiology of the adult myocardium.