Martina Delbeck, Katrin F Nickel, Elisabeth Perzborn, Peter Ellinghaus, Julia Strassburger, Raimund Kast, Volker Laux, Stefan Schäfer, Ralph T Schermuly, Georges von Degenfeld
AIMS: Anticoagulation with warfarin is recommended for the treatment of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, the therapeutic benefit of anticoagulation has not yet been demonstrated experimentally or clinically. Here, rivaroxaban, an oral, direct factor Xa (FXa) inhibitor, was compared with warfarin and enoxaparin in the prevention of right ventricular (RV) dysfunction and hypertrophy in the monocrotaline (MCT) model of pulmonary hypertension. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 10 per group) were randomized to receive rivaroxaban, warfarin, enoxaparin, or placebo before receiving a subcutaneous injection of MCT 60 mg/kg or saline...
October 1, 2011: Cardiovascular Research