Fig. 4

Evidence of a sex dimorphism in the LV geometry of the dilated AR left ventricle. a. Representative end-diastolic parasternal long axis (PSLAX) LV views from 6-month sham (up) and AR (bottom) rats of both sexes (left: females and right: males). Images were calibrated in order to be at the exact same scale. Vertical and horizontal bars correspond to 3 mm. b. From the PSLAX LV end-diastolic views at 6 months of sham and AR rats, three diameters were determined (EDD1 to 3). EDD1 represents the normal EDD from data or Table 2. The bottom part of the LV was then divided into thirds along the longitudinal axis (orange line) and EDD2 and EDD3 were determined. c. Ratio of EDD2/EDD1 (top) and EDD3/EDD1 (bottom) were plotted for male and female sham and AR animals at 6 months. Results are expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM; N = 8–11 animals/group). *: p < 0.05 between indicated groups