Fig. 1

Left ventricular dimensions increases more strongly in female AR rats than in males compared to sham-operated animals. End-diastolic (EDD; a and b), end-systolic (ESD; d and e) LV diameters and septum thickness (IVSW; g and h) were measured in M-mode LV short axis (SAX) and parasternal long axis (PSLAX) views in sham (blue) and AR (red) male and female rats at four different time points over a 6 months after surgery. Relative wall thickness (RWT; j and k) was then calculated using the equation described in the Methods section. Ratios of the mean values for each parameter in AR rats over sham ones was calculated for each time point and are illustrated in Panels c, f, i and l. Results are expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM; N = 8–10 animals/group). *: p < 0.05 and **: p < 0.01 between corresponding sham and AR groups at a given time point