Figure 1.

Hearts of CKD rats are hypertrophic and arrhythmogenic. (A) Representative image of hearts from an NL rat and a CKD rat. Note the larger size of the heart from the CKD rat. Cross-sections of heart slices stained by hematoxylin and eosin show thicker myocardium in the CKD rat. (B) Representative surface ECG recording. (a) Normal sinus rhythm recorded from an NL rat. (b) Representative tracing showing occurrence of premature ventricular complex (PVC) during ECG recording on a CKD rat. PVCs were more frequently seen in CKD rats. (c) Spontaneous atrial fibrillation was observed in a CKD rat.