Effect of obesity and epicardial fat/fatty infiltration on electrical and structural remodeling associated with atrial fibrillation in a novel canine model of obesity and atrial fibrillation: A comparative study.

Background: How obesity and epicardial fat influence atrial fibrillation (AF) is unknown.

Methods: To investigate the effect of obesity/epicardial fat on the AF substrate, we divided 20 beagle dogs of normal weight into four groups (n = 5 each): one of the four groups (Obese-rapid atrial pacing [RAP] group) served as a novel canine model of obesity and AF. The other three groups comprised dogs fed a standard diet without RAP (Control group), dogs fed a high-fat diet without RAP (Obese group), or dogs fed a standard diet with RAP (RAP group).