Table 1.

Advantages and disadvantages of large animal models.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Most physiologically and/or clinically relevant Allows for chronic studies to be undertaken Allows for cardiac function and responses to be assessed in the intact animal Responsive to all the techniques and measurements made in man Resembles more closely the human heart (young human heart is pig-like, older heart is dog-like)	Higher maintenance costs Harder to handle and house-specialized infrastructure and trained personnel needed Longer gestation time and lifespan Dog and pig: ischemia-reperfusion induced arrhythmias are more frequent Less suitable than small animals for genetic selection and production of transgenic strains and less spontaneous disease models